The State Department told Congress on Friday that it would shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and move some of its work to the State Department.
The State Department said this change will happen by July 1. This means the end for USAID, which has spent billions of dollars fighting poverty and hunger worldwide.
However, since Congress created USAID, legal challenges are expected because Congress wasn’t involved in the decision to close it.
The Trump administration has accused USAID of mismanaging taxpayer dollars and funding overseas programs that aren’t in the US interests. Current and former USAID employees and aid experts have countered that the agency, while imperfect, meets vital humanitarian needs and bolsters America’s soft power.
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Since Trump took office, his team has worked to dismantle USAID and pause almost all foreign aid for review. They’ve sacked thousands of USAID workers or put them on leave, and cancelled billions in aid contracts. As of last week, fewer than 900 USAID employees were still working.
Aid organisations and USAID workers have filed lawsuits. Some workers had to pay their own way home from overseas jobs.
On Friday, a federal appeals court allowed the shutdown to continue for now. The three judges agreed they might reverse this decision later, but won’t stop it now.
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) targeted USAID early. DOGE is cutting thousands of jobs across the government.
In a note to remaining workers obtained by CNN, Jeremy Lewin, who works with both DOGE and USAID, said the change would “significantly enhance efficiency, accountability, uniformity, and strategic impact in delivering foreign assistance programs – allowing our nation and President to speak with one voice in foreign affairs.”
The note said almost all USAID positions will be eliminated. Workers will start getting redundancy notices immediately.
Some USAID programmes will continue under the State Department, including emergency aid, health programmes, and certain security programmes. Regional development work will move to matching State Department offices.
