US Secretary Rubio Transfers USAID Closure to Budget Director Vought

In 2025, the Trump administration initiated a major shutdown and restructuring of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as an agency that had "long ago gone off the rails." By transferring a small portion of core programs to the State Department, USAID officially entered closeout mode, with Russ Vought, the White House budget director, taking over to oversee the agency's termination. The administration justified the move by claiming it saved taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and criticized USAID as wasteful and politically misguided. Despite the shutdown, some of the remaining USAID programs continued focusing on crisis response and health issues such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV until the agency ceased operations on July 1. Critics of the shutdown warned that cuts to aid budgets could increase mortality rates in vulnerable populations, while supporters argued that the agency played a vital role in providing food assistance, medical care, and stabilizing efforts abroad. The reorganization reflects the Trump administration's emphasis on aligning foreign aid spending with U.S. geopolitical interests.