The United States has now officially shut down its foreign aid agency, which is called USAID, concluding it had failed to effectively promote the country’s interests abroad, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday.
In his statement, Marco Rubio said USAID had “fallen well below” its core mission, accusing it of fostering inefficiency, enabling regime-change operations, and funding programmes that undermined American values.
The decision marks a dramatic shift in how Washington engages with global development and humanitarian assistance.
“For decades, USAID spent more than $715 billion in inflation-adjusted terms, often promoting anti-American ideals, such as DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] agendas, censorship, and corrupt NGOs,” Rubio said.
“This era of government-sanctioned inefficiency has officially come to an end.”
He added that from 1 July, USAID will cease all foreign assistance implementation, with its responsibilities being absorbed by the State Department.
The closure follows months of restructuring under President Donald Trump, who initiated the dismantling of USAID after returning to the White House in January. Trump had previously accused the agency of being “run by radical lunatics” and facilitating corruption at levels rarely seen before.”
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a newly created federal body, led the effort to shut down the agency as part of Trump’s broader campaign to eliminate waste in government spending. The process included terminating thousands of USAID employees, freezing or cancelling billions of USD in aid contracts.
While this decision might have been welcomed by a few conservative voices in US, the move has alarmed development experts and global health advocates.
USAID played a significant role in financing international health programmes, including initiatives targeting malaria, HIV/AIDS and maternal health in developing nations.
A study published on Monday in The Lancet warned that the abrupt halt in funding could result in more than 14 million preventable deaths by 2030.
Researchers noted that between 2001 and 2021, USAID-funded health projects were credited with saving an estimated 91 million lives in low- and middle-income countries.
Critics say the closure could erode decades of diplomatic goodwill and hinder the United States’ ability to respond to global health crises. There are also concerns that the shift may create a vacuum that rival powers such as China could exploit through their own aid programmes.
USAID was established in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy and had served as the primary instrument of American foreign assistance for more than six decades.
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