Are we witnessing the end of USAID?

What has the fallout been?

At the moment, the USAID website and X account are down, so few updates have been made available.

However, reports say that USAID’s many programmes have been shut with no warning. Many of the organisation’s global staff have been placed on leave, with thousands of public health and development programmes ceasing operation.

Essential medicines and food deliveries are now locked in warehouses, with those in need unable to access them. It’s estimated that half a billion dollars worth of food aid managed by USAID is destined to spoil in ports, transit or storage.

The cessation of USAID’s essential services includes the operation of its gold-standard famine detection system, which uses data analysis to predict where food shortages are emerging.

Those affected by the shutdown are amongst the most vulnerable, living in countries like Ukraine, Jordan, Ethiopia, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Afghanistan.

Trump fired the USAID inspector general just ONE DAY after the IG warned of the danger posed by Trump’s decision to dissolve the agency.

Trump isn’t just undermining humanitarian efforts.

He’s moving toward authoritarianism.

— Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) February 13, 2025

Could USAID be shut down?

In the latest news, a US judge has prevented 2,000 USAID employees from being forced to go on leave. It also ordered the reinstatement of about 500 additional employees.

Despite this pushback, Trump and Musk appear adamant on moving forward with a plan that would see USAID’s global workforce reduced from about 10,000 staff and contractors to just 600 in total.

That said, while it’s true that the US President does have power over the organisation USAID, Trump cannot abolish it by simply signing an executive order.

It’s probably that any attempt to do so would face strong opposition in the courts and Congress, the latter of which Trump’s party does not hold majority power.

It’s more likely that the Trump administration would settle for transforming USAID into a branch of the State Department, rather than classifying it as a government agency.

But how much the US will spend overseas in the next few years under an Elon Musk-influence, is still in question.

Regardless of what capacity USAID resumes operation, it appears that billions from the government’s long-term foreign aid budget are in jeopardy.