The Trump administration has targeted USAID as part of his efforts to trim government spending and reduce ‘waste’.
The United States has cancelled 83 percent of all the programmes at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) following a six-week review, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“The 5,200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States,” Rubio wrote in a post on the social media platform X.
Rubio did not specify exactly which programmes were being cancelled and which would be allowed to continue.
However, he added that the remaining approximately 1,000 programmes would be administered “more effectively” under the State Department and in consultation with Congress.
The top US diplomat also thanked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — an advisory body headed by billionaire Elon Musk — for its role in achieving “this overdue and historic reform”.
A few hours later, Musk responded: “Tough, but necessary. Good working with you. The important parts of USAID should always have been with Dept of State.”
Musk, with the blessing of President Donald Trump, has led a broad campaign of layoffs and downsizing within the federal government, arguing it was necessary to combat “waste” and “fraud”.
The New York Times reported last week that there had been open tension between Musk and Rubio at a recent cabinet meeting over proposed cuts to the State Department.
USAID in turmoil?
According to its official website, USAID is the “principal US agency to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms”.
But when Trump returned to office for a second term on January 20, he immediately ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid, pending a review of whether the country’s aid programmes align with his “America First” foreign policy.
This order, and ensuing stop-work orders, threw USAID into turmoil, halting the agency’s operations around the world, jeopardising the delivery of life-saving food and medical aid, and throwing global humanitarian relief efforts into chaos.
USAID previously employed more than 10,000 workers, but in late February, 1,600 people were laid off, and 4,200 were placed on leave.
The majority of those put on leave are not expected to be reinstated. Sources told the Reuters news agency on February 6 that the Trump administration hoped to cut the staff to less than 300.
Last week, hundreds of American diplomats at the State Department and USAID signed onto a letter denouncing the planned cuts.
“The decision to freeze and terminate foreign aid contracts and assistance awards without any meaningful review jeopardises our partnerships with key allies, erodes trust, and creates openings for adversaries to expand their influence,” said the letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
US Senator Bernie Sanders also slammed the dismantling of USAID last week, saying it would lead “to millions of preventable deaths”.
Before the aid freeze, the US was the largest distributor of foreign assistance in the world, and USAID was its primary mechanism for disbursing those funds.
In 2023, the US provided $72bn of assistance worldwide, which supported everything from women’s health in conflict zones to clean water access, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work.
In 2024, that amounted to 42 percent of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations.