The Trump administration has decided to eliminate the entire international workforce of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), effectively consolidating all foreign assistance programs under the State Department. This move has led to substantial cuts in international initiatives, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing that 5,200 of 6,200 initiatives would be terminated. Critics, including USAID officials, warn that these cuts will severely impact vulnerable populations, including millions of children at risk of malnutrition and preventable diseases, raising significant humanitarian concerns.
USAID was one of the first targets of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), whose former leader, billionaire Elon Musk, has baselessly called the agency a 'criminal organization.'
The announcement by Rubio on Tuesday means all foreign assistance programs will be managed by the department, with the administration firing hundreds of foreign service officers, contractors, and local employees across more than 100 countries.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in March that 5,200 of the agency's 6,200 international initiatives had been eliminated and that the few remaining programs were now under the control of the State Department.
USAID officials and international humanitarian experts have warned since the Trump administration first moved to freeze foreign assistance in January that cuts to the agency would leave at least 1 million children without treatment for malnutrition.
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