WASHINGTON—The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) submitted an official notification to Congress on Friday that the State Department will be assuming responsibility for most of the agency’s functions and ongoing programming.
All personnel will receive a Reduction in Force (RIF) notification on Friday, a USAID official shared with The Daily Wire, informing them that all non-statutory positions at USAID will be eliminated. That includes USAID employees around the world.
Approximately 4,600 USAID personnel will be RIF’d across the agency’s foreign and civil service.
Personnel will begin receiving RIF notices via email within a few minutes of that notification. Those notices will specify one of two final separation dates: either July 1, 2025, or September 2, 2025.
The historic move realigns the United States’ handling of foreign aid, implementing foreign policy to align with the interest of President Donald Trump’s administration. USAID officials say that bringing its programs under the State Department umbrella will enhance the impact, efficiency, accountability, and uniformity of its foreign assistance programs.
In a Friday statement, USAID Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer Jeremy Lewin said the agency has strayed from its original mission to help stem the world’s “gravest crises and support allies in need.”
“But the independent establishment of USAID has grown inefficient and unwieldy, too often contradicting rather than reinforcing the foreign policy of the President and nation,” he said.
“By bringing USAID’s core life-saving and strategic aid programs under the umbrella of the State Department, this Administration will significantly enhance the efficiency, accountability, uniformity, and strategic impact of foreign assistance programs – and ensure that our nation and President speaks with one voice in foreign affairs,” Lewin added.
USAID argues that the move is not about ending foreign aid, but reorienting how the United States delivers aid to “maximize impact,” adopting a “returns-oriented mindset” and centering on “American strategic interests.”
“Like any restructuring, there will inevitably be disruptions,” Lewin said. “From Secretary Rubio down, we are committed to ensuring that USAID personnel remain safe and that the Agency’s ongoing life-saving aid programs remain both intact and operational.”
Over the next three months, USAID and the State Department will work closely to transfer USAID’s programming over. During this period, the State Department will be assessing its own needs and conducting an independent hiring process, which will be available to eligible USAID employees. A USAID official told The Daily Wire that the agency has to wait 60 days before they can rehire someone at a different government agency — giving notice today will potentially allow employees who are RIF’d to be rehired at State in 60 days.
By July 1, 2025, the State Department will have assumed responsibility for USAID’s remaining programming, and many USAID employees will have gone over to the State Department or will be seeking other employment. Officials expect that USAID’s operations will all have been transferred, or otherwise shut down, over to the State Department by September 2, 2025.
Currently, USAID has 898 active and ongoing programs that total an estimated cost of about $78 billion and an unobligated remaining value of $8.3 billion.
Since January 20, a total of 5,341 awards have been terminated, USAID says, representing a total estimated cost of $75.9 billion and unobligated savings of $27.7 billion.
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WASHINGTON—The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) submitted an official notification to Congress on Friday that the State Department will be assuming responsibility for most of the agency’s functions and ongoing programming.
All personnel will receive a Reduction in Force (RIF) notification on Friday, a USAID official shared with The Daily Wire, informing them that all non-statutory positions at USAID will be eliminated. That includes USAID employees around the world.
Approximately 4,600 USAID personnel will be RIF’d across the agency’s foreign and civil service.
Personnel will begin receiving RIF notices via email within a few minutes of that notification. Those notices will specify one of two final separation dates: either July 1, 2025, or September 2, 2025.
The historic move realigns the United States’ handling of foreign aid, implementing foreign policy to align with the interest of President Donald Trump’s administration. USAID officials say that bringing its programs under the State Department umbrella will enhance the impact, efficiency, accountability, and uniformity of its foreign assistance programs.
In a Friday statement, USAID Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer Jeremy Lewin said the agency has strayed from its original mission to help stem the world’s “gravest crises and support allies in need.”
“But the independent establishment of USAID has grown inefficient and unwieldy, too often contradicting rather than reinforcing the foreign policy of the President and nation,” he said.
“By bringing USAID’s core life-saving and strategic aid programs under the umbrella of the State Department, this Administration will significantly enhance the efficiency, accountability, uniformity, and strategic impact of foreign assistance programs – and ensure that our nation and President speaks with one voice in foreign affairs,” Lewin added.
USAID argues that the move is not about ending foreign aid, but reorienting how the United States delivers aid to “maximize impact,” adopting a “returns-oriented mindset” and centering on “American strategic interests.”
“Like any restructuring, there will inevitably be disruptions,” Lewin said. “From Secretary Rubio down, we are committed to ensuring that USAID personnel remain safe and that the Agency’s ongoing life-saving aid programs remain both intact and operational.”
Over the next three months, USAID and the State Department will work closely to transfer USAID’s programming over. During this period, the State Department will be assessing its own needs and conducting an independent hiring process, which will be available to eligible USAID employees. A USAID official told The Daily Wire that the agency has to wait 60 days before they can rehire someone at a different government agency — giving notice today will potentially allow employees who are RIF’d to be rehired at State in 60 days.
By July 1, 2025, the State Department will have assumed responsibility for USAID’s remaining programming, and many USAID employees will have gone over to the State Department or will be seeking other employment. Officials expect that USAID’s operations will all have been transferred, or otherwise shut down, over to the State Department by September 2, 2025.
Currently, USAID has 898 active and ongoing programs that total an estimated cost of about $78 billion and an unobligated remaining value of $8.3 billion.
Since January 20, a total of 5,341 awards have been terminated, USAID says, representing a total estimated cost of $75.9 billion and unobligated savings of $27.7 billion.
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