Trump and Musk’s USAID ‘Shut Down’ Threat Opens Door for China

Volunteers unload sacks of wheat flour that were a part of an aid delivery from USAID in Ethiopia in 2021.Photographer: J. Countess/Getty Images

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By Peter Martin

February 3, 2025 at 11:50 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Charities, diplomats and foreign officials around the world are frantically trying to figure out what will happen to the US agency that doles out over $40 billion in aid for everything from life-saving HIV programs in Africa to funding for Ukraine amid the Trump administration’s assault on a cornerstone of the country’s global influence.

The US Agency for International Development, an organization that dates to President John F. Kennedy’s attempts to fight Soviet influence in the developing world, is on the brink of collapse. Over the weekend, while the world was distracted by President Donald Trump’s trade war against Canada and Mexico, the body’s website quietly went dark.