What is USAID? Rubio takes over USAID as Trump and Musk work to dismantle it
In a frenzied Monday, the U.S. Agency for International Development headquarters were closed for the day and was blocked after employees were notified to stay home via email.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday morning that he would be taking over as acting administrator for USAID, the news coming after Elon Musk claimed that President Donald Trump had agreed with him in shutting the agency down, according to news reports.
In a live session on X spaces, previously known as Twitter spaces, Musk said “It became apparent that it’s not an apple with a worm it in." "What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair.”
According to officials in another update, Trump made Musk a "special government employee." While he leads his Department of Government Efficiency, the tech billionaire, who also serves as the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, was not technically a federal employee until today.
The USAID agency has been targeted by the Trump administration in its crackdown on federal government spending and the number programs. The president has been a long-term critic of overseas spending.
“It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics. And we’re getting them out,” Trump said to reporters about USAID on Sunday night.
While Rubio is out of the country, he said this morning to reporters “This is not about ending the programs that USAID does, per se,” adding, “There are things that it does that are good and there are things that it does that we have strong questions about.”
But what is USAID exactly? Here's what to know about the agency and what it means.
What is USAID?
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. government. It was formed in 1961 and was tasked with administering economic aid for long-term socioeconomic development.
The agency employs 10,000 people, two thirds of which work overseas in missions across over 60 countries, primarily in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
In fiscal year 2023, USAID disbursed $72 billion in assistance worldwide, Reuters reported. The funding went to everything from women's health in conflict zones to access to clean water, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work. Much is spent on health programs, such as offering polio vaccines and providing food in counties where people are starving, among other humanitarian aid necessities.
According to news sources, Sub-Saharan Africa could be the most impacted region during the freeze on USAID, reportedly receiving $6.5 billion in aid last year.
The Trump administration does not have congressional approval to close the agency that administers foreign assistance, and the effort received swift pushback from Democratic lawmakers.