What Is USAID? Why Trump, Musk are pushing to shut down the U.S. foreign aid agency
Learn more about what USAID is and how it works after Department of Government Efficiency leader Musk says he and Trump are hoping to shut down the federal agency.
The U.S. Agency for International Development is at the center of a political firestorm after the Trump administration indicated it will shut it down as an independent agency and possibly move it under the State Department in a larger effort to crack down on federal bureaucracy.
USAID delivers billions of dollars in humanitarian aid overseas, funding that advocates say provides a critical lifeline to more than 100 countries at only a small fraction of the overall federal budget. Nonetheless, President Donald Trump over the weekend criticized it as being “run by a bunch of radical lunatics,” and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who heads his government efficiency initiative, called USAID a “criminal organization.”
The agency has an uncertain future. NBC News has reported that Trump administration officials have discussed placing USAID under the authority of the State Department, according to more than a dozen sources. On Monday, Musk announced that the administration was working to shutter the agency, a week after hundreds of USAID contractors were placed on unpaid leave and some were terminated following a freeze on U.S. foreign aid that Trump imposed worldwide.
Employees and supporters protest Monday outside USAID headquarters.Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call via Getty ImagesUSAID’s office in Washington was closed Monday, and employees were told to work remotely.
The developments come after USAID’s director of security and his deputy were put on administrative leave after reportedly denying Musk’s cost-cutting task force access to its secure systems Saturday.
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