Gutted USAID — 83% of Programs Terminated
The administration shut down USAID with a stop-work order, cutting off lifesaving care worldwide overnight. 83% of programs and 92% of grants were eliminated. Experts estimated 3 million preventable deaths per year as a result.
On January 24, 2025, the Trump administration issued a stop-work order for USAID — the United States Agency for International Development — cutting recipients worldwide off from lifesaving care overnight and without warning.
By March, Secretary of State Rubio announced that 83% of USAID programs had been terminated and approximately 92% of grants eliminated. The agency that had been America's primary tool for foreign development assistance for over 60 years was effectively dismantled.
The human cost was staggering:
- Experts estimated the cuts could lead to 3 million preventable deaths per year
- 23 million children lost access to education programs
- HIV/AIDS treatment programs (PEPFAR) that had saved millions of lives were disrupted
- Famine relief, vaccination campaigns, and clean water projects were halted
OMB Director Russ Vought reportedly used freed-up USAID funds to pay for his own personal security detail. The destruction of USAID — which had been a cornerstone of American soft power and global influence since the Kennedy administration — handed a strategic gift to China and Russia, who moved to fill the vacuum.