US Agency for International Development

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Bush, Obama, Bono Slam Trump's Gutting of USAID

'Colossal mistake,' Obama said in private videoconference bidding farewell to agency staff

(Newser) - Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush delivered rare open criticism of the Trump administration—and singer Bono recited a poem—in an emotional video farewell Monday with staffers at the US Agency for International Development. Monday was the last day as an independent agency for the six-decade-old humanitarian...

John Roberts Rules in Favor of Trump on Foreign Aid Freeze

SCOTUS chief justice overrules federal judge's Wednesday deadline for release of nearly $2B

(Newser) - A federal judge's pause on the foreign aid freeze imposed by the Trump administration has been superseded for now by John Roberts himself. On Wednesday, just ahead of a midnight deadline put in place by US District Judge Amir Ali for the US government to release nearly $2 billion...

USAID Workers Told to Clear Out in 15 Minutes

Insulted employees are instructed not to bring hand grenades to clear out office

(Newser) - Thousands of US Agency for International Development workers who've been fired or placed on leave as part of the Trump administration's dismantling of the agency are being given a brief window Thursday and Friday to clear out their workspaces. In total, about 15 minutes, the AP reports. USAID...

USAID Freeze Could Result in $500M of Spoiled Food

That's about how much is currently in transit or storage, waiting to be distributed

(Newser) - Among the disturbing tidbits in the USAID report from the inspector general who was promptly fired after issuing it : There's nearly $500 million worth of food sitting in ships, at ports, and in warehouses amid the USAID funding freeze instituted by the Trump administration, and it's at risk...

USAID Inspector General Fired After Warning on Aid Oversight

'Look what happens when you write a report critical of this administration: They fire you the next day'

(Newser) - The White House fired the inspector general for the US Agency for International Development on Tuesday, officials said, a day after his office warned that the Trump administration's dismantling of USAID had made it all but impossible to monitor $8.2 billion in unspent humanitarian funds. The White House...

Workers Turned Away From USAID Offices

'Just go," official told staffers who showed up for work after court order

(Newser) - Officials and federal officers turned away scores of US Agency for International Development staffers who showed up for work Monday at its Washington headquarters after a court temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that would have pulled all but a fraction of workers off the job worldwide. A front desk...

USAID Shutdown Efforts Are 'Chaotic,' 'Tectonic'
USAID Shutdown Efforts
Are 'Chaotic,' 'Tectonic'
THE RUNDOWN
Feb 7, 2025 9:19 AM CST

USAID Shutdown Efforts Are 'Chaotic,' 'Tectonic'

US farmers to lose out on sales; patients stranded with devices, experimental drugs in their bodies

(Newser) - The Trump administration is intent on dismantling the US Agency for International Development, which delivers food, medicine, and other humanitarian aid to the world's poorest. The stop-work order on USAID, which is now under the purview of Marco Rubio's State Department, immediately halted the agency's disbursement of...

Kristof: What's Unfolding at USAID Is 'Sickening'

New York Times columnist says the world's richest are hurting the world's poorest

(Newser) - The headline of Nicholas Kristof's New York Times column on what's happening to USAID crystallizes the issue in his view: "The World's Richest Men Take On the World's Poorest Children." Elon Musk has been gloating about gutting the US Agency for International Aid Development,...

Trump Will Place Almost All USAID Staff on Leave

Nearly all workers will be pulled off the job and out of the field, across the globe

(Newser) - As expected, the Trump administration announced Tuesday night that almost all USAID employees will be placed on administrative leave Friday night. Nearly all workers currently overseas will be pulled from the field and returned to the US within 30 days, other than those deemed essential, the AP reports. The official...

USAID Officials Put on Leave for Allegedly Flouting Trump Order

Details are not clear, but decision applies to 56 top officials

(Newser) - The top US aid and development agency is in disarray following the abrupt freeze on foreign aid issued by the State Department on Friday. Thousands of humanitarian, development, and security programs funded by the US had either halted their work or were in the process of doing so, and employees...

US Tried to Sow Dissent By Building 'Cuban Twitter'

AP reveals secret program aimed at spurring Cuban Spring

(Newser) - The US in 2009 started work on a thoroughly 21st-century way to attempt to stir unrest in Cuba: It concocted a "Cuban Twitter" that it hoped would draw young people that it could prod toward dissent, an AP investigation has found. The text messaging platform, ZunZuneo—slang for a...

GOP Budget Would Kill 70K Kids: USAID Chief

Foreign aid vital for economy's future, Rajiv Shah argues

(Newser) - House Republicans' version of the budget deal to keep the government running would cause the deaths of at least 70,000 children around the world who depend on America aid, USAID chief Rajiv Shah testified yesterday. The agency predicts that 30,000 will die because of the scaling back of...

Democratic Rep. Wexler Will Resign Fla. Seat

48-year-old seeks private-sector paycheck with kids in college

(Newser) - Robert Wexler, a seven-term Democrat from Florida, is set to resign his house seat for a public-policy position. Though some Washington insiders speculate that Wexler, 48, will head the US Agency for International Development, others tell Politico that, with kids in college, Wexler needs an income bigger than a government...

Clinton Derides Vetting Process as a 'Nightmare'

Secretary frustrated by lengthy delays in filling top jobs

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton told USAID staff yesterday that the Obama administration's vetting process for top jobs has become a frustrating "nightmare," CNN reports. Clinton was asked why  the agency is still without a new administrator. "It's not for lack of trying," she responded. "It takes far...

US Diplomat Shot Dead in Sudan
US Diplomat Shot Dead
in Sudan
Jan 1, 2008 8:22 AM CST

US Diplomat Shot Dead in Sudan

USAID official succumbs to injuries in Khartoum

(Newser) - A US diplomat has died of injuries suffered when he was shot five times early this morning as he rode through the streets of Khartoum, the AP reports. The attack immediately killed his driver. The shooting occurred a day after a joint African Union-United Nations force took over peacekeeping duties...

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