How to rebuild America's broken aid machine

USAID's dismantling killed hundreds of thousands

A Lancet study found USAID prevented over ninety million deaths between two thousand one and two thousand twenty-one.

Instability and poverty surged after shutdown

A Science study found places losing large USAID assistance experienced marked uptick in armed clashes and riots. Development economists Marcella Nicolini and Fabio Sabatini showed economic activity in areas with substantial U.S. aid dramatically declined.

Ninety percent of USAID was eliminated

Ninety percent of USAID's programs were terminated and ninety percent of staff laid off. Congress reappropriated most foreign aid funding, but the Office of Management and Budget has not released all of it.

Billions in aid money went unspent

Annual U.S.foreign aid disbursements fell by twenty-six billion dollars between fiscal years two thousand twenty-three to twenty-four and two thousand twenty-four to twenty-five.

Russell Vought blocked democracy funding

Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget director and self-identified Christian nationalist, stonewalled spending for programs supporting democracy. He insisted humanitarian grants go only to two specific Christian nongovernmental organizations.

Secretary Rubio wanted to end aid contractors

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he wanted to end funding to USAID development contractors, universities, and local civil society organizations without understanding downsides of alternatives like budget support.

Promised savings and transparency never materialized

DOGE's objectives to slash waste and boost transparency were not realized. President Donald Trump's two thousand twenty-five big beautiful bill erased any modest savings from DOGE's cuts to foreign aid.

State Department transferred billions to UN and governments

Moving USAID functions to State Department led to transfer of three point eight billion dollars to UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and fifteen point nine billion dollars directly into foreign governments' treasuries through…

Recipient governments lack corruption controls

Over ninety percent of countries in these agreements score below fifty out of one hundred on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, indicating serious systemic corruption.

Kennedy wanted quick results from aid

U.S.President John F.Kennedy hoped poverty in Latin America would visibly recede within couple of years of USAID's creation.

USAID won the Cold War through agriculture

After President Richard Nixon's second year, aid spending for agriculture increased to fifty percent of USAID's budget, directed primarily toward Asia.

Congress imposed nearly two hundred fifty earmarks

When Andrew Natsios became USAID administrator in two thousand one, he discovered foreign aid funds straitjacketed by nearly two hundred fifty congressional earmarks, a sum exceeding USAID's total appropriation.

USAID saved American soldiers' lives in Iraq

USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives employed large numbers of young men in Iraq who might otherwise have been recruited into militias, reducing U.S.military casualties in provinces with highest violence.

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DOGE abolished programs that enhanced soft power

The DOGE team abolished USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives and innumerable other programs that alleviated suffering globally and enhanced U.S.soft power.

State Department lacks aid management capacity

In May two thousand twenty-five, State Department inspector general issued report detailing what department must do to competently manage foreign aid.

Create independent cabinet-level aid department

Washington needs new cabinet-level department reporting to president that manages all government aid programs.At least eighty percent of staff should be deployed abroad, not in Washington.

Reestablish country missions and reduce oversight

USAID country missions must be reestablished, reporting to local U.S.ambassador.Congress should reduce committees overseeing aid to Foreign Affairs authorizing committee and appropriations subcommittee in each body.

China and Russia fill the void

China is racing to offer alternative sources of development financing while Russia seeks to expand global influence through security partnerships.The United States cannot afford to let its foreign aid apparatus atrophy.