The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was officially shut down and absorbed by the State Department after the Trump Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), previously led by Elon Musk, labeled the organization a “viper’s nest” rife with corruption and waste. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the closure, asserting that USAID failed to meet development objectives, often worsened global instability, and lacked accountability since the Cold War. Rubio confirmed that foreign assistance functions would now prioritize American national interests under the restructured State Department. President Trump praised DOGE‘s efforts to identify government waste, citing specific examples of questionable spending within USAID, including $8 million for “making mice transgender” and $45 million for DEI scholarships in Burma.

In a rare joint public rebuke, former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, along with U2 frontman Bono, appeared via video conference to console outgoing USAID staff and criticize the closure. Obama called the decision “a colossal mistake” and a “tragedy,” stressing the vital nature of the agency’s global mission. Bush focused on the agency’s legacy, noting that the closure ends the HIV and AIDS relief initiative that is credited with saving 25 million lives worldwide, affirming the work showed America’s “good heart.” Bono read a mournful poem, claiming the move would cause widespread suffering and calling the staff “the best of us.”