What Does USAID Do and Why Is It a Target for Trump and Musk?

President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk have launched a full-frontal assault on the United States Agency for International Development. Pending a review, Trump has ordered a pause to all US foreign aid — with some exceptions — and Musk has threatened to shut down the independent government agency entirely, arguing that it’s not aligned with American interests. Dozens of senior USAID leaders have been placed on administrative leave and employees have been locked out of the agency’s headquarters in Washington.

The US is the largest provider of official foreign assistance in the world, spending an estimated $70 billion altogether in fiscal year 2022, the most recent year for which data are available. USAID administers most of that money as the agency responsible for humanitarian and development assistance, which came to roughly $43 billion in fiscal year 2023. The agency was created in 1961, and its independent status was established by Congress in 1998. USAID takes policy direction from the State Department, while being separate from it, and its administrator reports to the secretary of state. With roughly 10,000 employees, most of whom work outside the US, it operates largely by disbursing funds to contractors, nonprofits, international organizations and foreign governments.