Trump Admin Moves to Dismantle USAID, Merge It Into State Department in Historic Overhaul

By Jared Evan (TJV)

Over the past several days, reports and leaks have indicated that the Trump administration was preparing to merge the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) into the State Department while reducing its workforce. Despite these changes, USAID would still function as a humanitarian aid organization. Discussions about potential funding reductions remained ongoing.

Following these reports, USAID’s website went offline, and its official X (formerly Twitter) account disappeared. Then, on Sunday night, President Donald Trump addressed reporters, stating that USAID had been “run by a bunch of radical lunatics” and that his administration was taking action to remove them.

Later that night, Elon Musk—who leads the government efficiency initiative known as “DOGE”—held a live X Spaces session, where he provided an update on USAID’s status. Speaking to an audience of more than 682,000 listeners, Musk claimed that the president had agreed USAID should be shut down. He described the agency as beyond repair, comparing it to a “ball of worms” rather than an apple with a worm in it—implying that the problems were systemic rather than fixable.

Musk later posted on X, calling USAID a “criminal organization” and asserting that it was responsible for funding bioweapons research, including work related to COVID-19. His remarks followed reports that two top security officials at USAID had been placed on leave for refusing to turn over classified material to Musk’s government inspection team. Eventually, members of DOGE gained access to the aid agency’s classified files, which allegedly contained intelligence reports.

In response to these developments, Trump ordered a freeze on foreign aid, aligning with his “America First” policy. Some commentators argued that USAID had long served as a mechanism for financial mismanagement and corruption within government agencies. Journalist Robby Starbuck and investigative reporter Lara Logan suggested that USAID had operated as a front for the CIA, using taxpayer dollars to support various non-governmental organizations, such as the Open Society Foundation.

During the X Spaces session, Musk was joined by DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy and Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who discussed the significance of these actions. They noted that if USAID were fully absorbed into the State Department, Senator Marco Rubio would oversee grant distribution, ensuring stricter financial scrutiny. They emphasized that this restructuring would mark a historic shift in U.S. foreign policy and reduce what they referred to as “Deep State” influence over taxpayer funds.

Ultimately, the Trump administration’s move to dismantle USAID as an independent agency appears to be part of a broader effort to cut off what officials and commentators describe as a major source of government corruption and financial mismanagement.