The USAID takedown, explained

The website for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) went dark last weekend, then came back online two days ago. It displayed the following message: “Roughly 10,000 direct hire personnel are on indefinite unpaid leave as of midnight Friday, with exemptions for ‘mission-critical’ programs. Workers placed overseas have 30 days to accept a government offer for reimbursed travel back to the states.” The message concludes with, “Thank you for your service.”

The abrupt closure is the work of the Department of Government Efficiency led by billionaire Elon Musk, whom President Donald Trump has tasked with slashing government spending. But the drastic cuts are running into legal challenges. 

What is USAID? President John F. Kennedy created the independent, government-funded agency in 1961 after Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act. Kennedy envisioned USAID advancing American interests by countering Soviet influence in impoverished countries. He wanted an agency outside of the State Department bureaucracy to speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid. After the Soviet Union fell, the mission continued against a growing number of potential foreign threats. China has a similar program called the “Belt and Road” initiative, which it has used to invest heavily in African governments and infrastructure. The United States contributes more humanitarian aid than any other country, though some nations invest a greater proportion of their gross domestic product. The agency receives roughly $50 billion per year, which is less than 1% of the overall federal budget. 

What does USAID do? The agency runs humanitarian programs in about 130 countries. It predominantly promotes clean water programs, health initiatives, and childhood education. It also provides short-term relief to war-torn countries. USAID granted awards to contractors building a temporary pier in Gaza to deliver supplies to civilians. Last year, it sent $14.4 billion to Ukraine and $770 million to Jordan. USAID also runs programs in Latin America to boost local economies and study the root causes of migration. It largely employs contractors and works with nongovernmental organizations and local programs in other countries. It has also bankrolled international development programs at universities and partnered with faith-based organizations in the United States and abroad. 

Is USAID mismanaging money? USAID has long been criticized for being inefficient, expensive, and overly involved in international politics. Last year, former Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador accused the group of funding his political opposition. In October, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., sent a letter to USAID administrators asking for details about where aid to Gaza ended up. He claimed that some money was unintentionally funneled to pro-terrorist organizations. A similar situation happened with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), a top USAID partner. While USAID denied the claims and reported it sends no money to UNRWA, Cotton said the organization does not have appropriate vetting procedures for its Middle Eastern recipients. Also last year, USAID charged a Syrian national with diverting $9 million to al-Qaeda-affiliated groups between 2015 and 2019. An internal audit last year found that the agency spends so much money because it does not appropriately monitor indirect costs. 

What about ideology? The Trump administration has released a list of programs that receive USAID funding and also push LGBT ideology. Some of these violate President Trump’s executive orders to recognize only two genders and eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in federal agencies. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt gave reporters this week examples of ideologically motivated funding such as $1.5 million to advance DEI programs in Serbia’s workplaces; $70,000 for a production of a DEI musical in Ireland; $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia; and $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru. Federal spending records showed that most of the examples Leavitt shared were funded through the State Department, not USAID, during the Biden administration, according to USAspending.gov. 

What did Elon Musk do? “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Elon Musk posted on X early Monday morning. Over the weekend, he sent employees to the USAID headquarters in Washington to access internal databases and payment systems. On Saturday, the agency’s website disappeared. An email from a DOGE employee told USAID employees to work from home until further notice. Security guards at the USAID offices were told to deny entry to workers. By the end of the day Monday, DOGE levied a stopwork order, locked employees out of their email accounts, and placed federal contractors on unpaid leave. 

What is Congress doing? Democratic lawmakers have protested that Musk’s actions are unconstitutional, partly because he is not an agency head and partly because the executive branch may not abolish agencies without an act of Congress. Trump formed the DOGE by renaming the U.S. Digital Services office, which worked to improve the government’s use of information technology.

The White House says it did not abolish USAID completely but merely moved it to the State Department. Trump named Secretary of State Marco Rubio the acting USAID director on Tuesday. Rubio said his team is upholding a 30-day review period to analyze the agency’s finances and activities. He said USAID has acted in “rank insubordination” to toss around American money. 

Only a few Republicans have expressed concern. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said he is disturbed by reports that a USAID program to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS outbreaks has stalled. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told reporters this week that she is looking into the legality of the action. Meanwhile, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., applauded Musk’s action and said the Education Department is next on the shutdown list. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., on Thursday revived a bill to use USAID funding to deport illegal immigrants. 

Is this legal? A Congressional Review Service memo this week clarified that although President Bill Clinton received temporary authorization to reorganize USAID in 1998, the president may not alter or remove the agency without congressional approval. It may propose and implement moves to other departments but only after notifying the pertinent committees. USAID spent more than $30 billion in the last fiscal year, and Congress has already appropriated more. Democrats argue that shutting down the agency violates the Impoundment Control Act, which prevents the president from taking control of funds Congress has designated for particular agencies. 

On Thursday, the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. They argue that the shutdown of USAID and reorganization under the State Department exceeds presidential authority and violates the separation of powers. On Friday, a federal judge in the District of Columbia temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s order to place around 2,200 foreign staffers on administrative leave on the grounds that plaintiffs could suffer irreparable harm. 

Is it true that news outlets received USAID funding? Social media accounts claimed that Politico received $8.1 million in grants from federal agencies, including USAID. Numerous agencies purchased 237 subscriptions to the company’s pro service, which provides access to detailed analysis, bill tracking, spending records, and databases for policy matters. According to federal records, USAID contributed $24,000 of the total cost for the subscriptions. Christianity Today is also listed as a government aid recipient of more than $1.8 million. CEO Tim Dalrymple said in an X post that the company applied for an employee retention credit as part of a COVID-19 relief program. For tax purposes, the pandemic relief programs were listed as government grants. 

Other social media reports accused the Chicago-based Roys Report of receiving federal funding, but federal records and screenshots posted to social media show the company has not taken any grant money. The Roys Report specializes in publishing whistleblower reports of church and faith leader misconduct.