Why fate of USAID hangs in balance amid Trump administration's fund freeze

Elon Musk has declared that the United States Agency for International Development should 'die'

A week after President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid, his administration removed two top United States Agency for International Development (USAID) security officials after they refused to grant representatives of Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” access to restricted spaces at the agency. Also, the agency’s website reportedly went offline.

According to reports, nearly 100 senior staff have now been placed on leave, including around 30 employees from the Legislative and Public Affairs bureau who lost access to their emails overnight.

What is USAID?

USAID was created in 1961 under President John F Kennedy through the Foreign Assistance Act. It is the US government’s humanitarian arm. It dispenses billions of dollars annually across the world to alleviate poverty, treat diseases, and respond to famines and natural disasters. It also promotes democracy building and development.

It is also said to be a key soft power tool of the US to foster relations with communities around the world. According to the Washington Post, health programmes have been the largest USAID sector by funding since the early 1990s. The US is reportedly the world's largest donor of humanitarian aid. It spends less than 1% of its budget on foreign assistance, a smaller share overall than some other countries.

What happened at USAID?

A senior Senate Democratic aide told Reuters that DOGE personnel had entered the USAID headquarters. “DOGE did access the building yesterday,” the aide said. When USAID security officers tried to deny entry to those without security clearance, they were “threatened with action by the federal Marshals Service,” the aide said.

According to reports, the DOGE team reportedly accessed secure areas, including USAID’s security office and executive secretariat, which contain classified files and personal records of USAID employees. It is unclear what information was obtained.

Katie Miller, a spokesperson for DOGE, posted on X, “No classified material was accessed without proper security clearances.”What do Trump and Musk say?

Musk, who formed DOGE in cooperation with the Trump administration has been open about his views on USAID. According to him, it is a “criminal organisation”. “Live by executive order, die by executive order,” the Tesla CEO wrote on X about USAID.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said the USAID has "been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we're getting them out... and then we'll make a decision (on its future)”.

The Trump administration also placed dozens of USAID officials on administrative leave and accused the agency of attempting to circumvent the funding freeze.

What lies ahead for USAID?

With Trump’s move there are concerns in the aid community that USAID may be folded into the State Department or eliminated altogether. Republican House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast supports merging USAID with the State Department. Speaking on CBS’ Face the Nation, he said more “command and control” is needed. When asked whether congressional approval was required for such a move, he did not provide a direct answer.

Democrats have expressed concern that Trump may be headed toward ending USAID as an independent agency and absorbing it into the State Department. According to Democrats, Trump has no legal authority to eliminate a congressionally funded independent agency.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said presidents cannot eliminate congressionally appropriated federal agencies by executive order, and said Trump was poised to “double down on a constitutional crisis.”

“That’s what a despot — who wants to steal the taxpayers’ money to enrich his billionaire cabal — does,” Murphy said on X.