Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced today that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has officially ceased all operations, as part of a sweeping foreign aid restructuring ordered by President Donald J. Trump.
Rubio confirmed that all remaining USAID foreign assistance programs will be transferred to the State Department, under a new “America First” foreign policy framework.
Rubio stated that USAID had become inefficient, misaligned with national interests, and riddled with bureaucracy.
“As of July 1st, USAID will officially cease to implement foreign assistance,” he declared in a State Department Substack post, adding that any future aid programs will only proceed through the State Department and must directly serve American strategic interests.
This announcement follows a March directive canceling approximately 83 percent of USAID’s ongoing projects—an estimated 5,200 out of 6,200 programs—following a six-week review initiated under an executive order signed by President Trump on January 20, 2025, which paused all foreign development assistance.
Founded in 1961 under President Kennedy, USAID has played a pivotal role in international development and humanitarian aid for over 60 years, including contributions to PEPFAR and malaria prevention.
However, critics—including former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush—denounced the agency’s closure as a “colossal mistake” and a “tragedy,” warning it could destabilize global aid efforts and increase mortality in low-income countries.
A recent Lancet study projects that the interruption of U.S. foreign aid could lead to more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, particularly affecting children under five and low‑income nations.
Humanitarian organizations, such as the International Rescue Committee, have reported program shutdowns impacting water, sanitation, and healthcare services, threatening educational access for thousands of girls and worsening health crises in parts of Africa and Asia.
Secretary Rubio defended the action as necessary to eliminate what the administration views as waste and to reorient aid to empower self-reliant countries, facilitate trade, and safeguard U.S. interests amid geopolitical competition with China.
Despite legal challenges from foreign service unions and criticism from advocacy groups, the reorganization continues. All USAID missions will now operate under the State Department, with only approximately 300 of the original 10,000 employees retained for mission-critical roles.
This marks a historic shift in U.S. foreign assistance policy—dissolving a standalone aid agency that once symbolized America’s global leadership and moral commitment, and integrating its responsibilities into the executive branch’s central foreign policy apparatus.
