The Death of USAID
A pillar of US foreign policy comes crashing down
You’ve probably seen the news by now about the Trump administration’s full-blown attack on the United States Agency for International Development. After issuing a stop-work order last week for nearly all USAID staff, a goon squad from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency raided USAID offices over the weekend, gaining access to the agency’s sensitive payment and personnel systems. Musk is now on a posting spree, spreading malicious lies and conspiracy theories about USAID. “USAID is a criminal organization,” he said. “Time for it to die.”
Meanwhile, USAID staff were told that headquarters were closed and instructed to stay home. This afternoon, a group of lawmakers attempted to gain entry but were prevented by federal agents. Secretary of State Marco Rubio just installed himself as acting head of the agency.
For all intents and purposes, USAID is dead — killed in a fit of ideological vengeance.
I wrote about the consequences of USAID’s demise for The New Republic, which just posted my piece online. Here’s an excerpt.
Already, HIV patients have been turned away from clinics that provided antiretrovirals as part of the hugely successful PEPFAR program. This may potentially cause a surge in viral loads in people, causing a resurgence of AIDS and the proliferation of drug-resistant HIV. (While the administration did issue a waiver to ostensibly keep PEPFAR going, those implementers that are still operational are nonetheless wary and apparently scaling back their services.)
Economies in poorer countries with which USAID has partnered may also start to suffer. USAID works with governments, NGOs, and businesses in countries friendly to the United States to help build market economies, support energy systems, boost agricultural productivity, and implement other activities designed to foster self-reliance and resilience against economic shocks—all while making these markets more attractive for foreign investment.
The United States also contributes about four out of every 10 dollars committed to humanitarian relief in crises. These include man-made disasters like Gaza and Sudan and natural disasters like droughts, earthquakes, and hurricanes. USAID is a dominant funder in this sector, sometimes directly through its Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs), but mostly by supporting major international NGOs and smaller local NGOs that provide aid in times of crisis.
Perhaps the most insidious impact of USAID’s death will be on the aid sector itself. Aid and development have become a highly specialized field, populated by thousands of professionals who have gained hard-earned expertise in responding to humanitarian crises, supporting economic and social development in poorer countries, providing health care in war zones, and fighting infectious diseases.
A relatively small number of these aid professionals work directly for USAID. That is by design. USAID is a small bureaucracy, and most of its work is carried out by contractors. This includes for-profit Beltway contractors, as well as major international NGOs and local NGOs that receive substantial grants from USAID to carry out aid efforts.
These contractors, which rely on USAID funding, are now laying off workers in droves. They are substantially scaling back—some even potentially filing for bankruptcy. Even if a future administration were somehow to restore USAID, the damage done to the entire aid sector may be permanent. The companies, NGOs, and individuals with technical know-how may be lost forever.
As I write in the piece, the death of USAID will have seismic geopolitical consequences as well, as one pillar of American foreign policy comes swiftly and suddenly crashing down.
You can be sure this is an issue I will cover in the weeks and months to come, and into the foreseeable future. These are uncertain times, but I will use the skills and expertise I’ve developed in over 20 years as a journalist covering these issues to help you make sense of it all.
Thank you for this post! This is so important. I live in DC and know many people who already lost their jobs because of USAID dismantling. I also know of people in my home country Serbia who were working on projects backed up by the USAID who lost jobs overnight for the same reason. The lies and conspiracies posted by Elon Musk on X about the work of USAID are horrendous and heartbreaking. If this administration was so anti-immigration, wouldn’t international development make a ton of sense? But no, we are beyond the point of what makes sense, these are scary times. And exactly to your point, this sector may never recover after such shock
Elon is judge, jury, and executioner for the Dunning-Kruger Administration.