Dismantling USAID: Accountability for the Administration’s Reckless Foreign Aid Overhaul

The Trump administration's recent shuttering of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) marks a reckless break from a six-decade legacy of American leadership in global development and humanitarian aid. While Secretary of State Marco Rubio boasts about ending “a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex,” this move obliterates an effective system that has demonstrably saved millions of lives and advanced U.S. interests abroad. USAID staff faced abrupt job cuts as nearly all the agency’s 13,000 employees were slashed amid a reorganization pushed through without transparency or consultation. Desperate efforts by remaining personnel to disburse funding before their access was cut off...