Secretary of State Marco Rubio officially dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development on Tuesday, ending six decades of American foreign aid operations and transferring remaining programs to the State Department in what marks the most sweeping overhaul of U.S. international assistance since the Cold War.
The closure, effective July 1, caps months of cuts that eliminated more than 80% of USAID's programs and thousands of jobs as the Trump administration redirects foreign policy toward what Rubio calls "America First" priorities.
"As of July 1st, USAID will officially cease to implement foreign assistance," Rubio announced in a Substack post Tuesday12. "Foreign assistance programs that align with administration policies—and which advance American interests—will be administered by the State Department, where they will be delivered with more accountability, strategy, and efficiency."
Rubio criticized USAID for creating a "globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense" with "little to show since the end of the Cold War"12. The agency, established in 1961, had managed more than $715 billion in inflation-adjusted spending over decades2.
A senior State Department official told reporters Tuesday that the new system would ensure foreign assistance is "linked up diplomatically" with Trump administration foreign policy goals3. The department plans to introduce its successor program, called "America First," this week4.
The shutdown drew immediate criticism from Democrats and aid advocates. Representative Gregory Meeks, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, had previously urged Rubio to halt the dismantlement, calling it "extra-legal" and noting Rubio's past support for USAID as a national security tool1.
Actress Charlize Theron denounced the cuts at a Monday event, saying "Foreign aid cuts brought HIV and AIDS programs in my home country of South Africa to an absolute standstill"2. According to The Associated Press, South Africa's HIV program has been stripped of more than $400 million annually3.
A study published Monday in The Lancet credited USAID programs with preventing 91 million deaths in the first two decades of this century3.
USAID became an early target of the Trump administration's cost-cutting drive led by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. In March, Rubio announced the cancellation of 83% of USAID programs following a six-week review12.
The Trump administration has requested $17 billion for foreign assistance next year, less than half the previous amount3. State Department research found that countries formerly receiving USAID funding now prefer "trade, not aid," Rubio wrote4.
"Where there was once a rainbow of unidentifiable logos on life-saving aid, there will now be one recognizable symbol: the American flag," Rubio concluded4.
