By Emeka Blast 
USAID Shut Down Amid Scrutiny Over Links to Soros-Affiliated Groups
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), long criticized for its ties to organizations backed by billionaire George Soros, was officially dismantled on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, as announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The closure, a key priority of President Donald Trump’s second administration, ends six decades of USAID operations, with its remaining programs—roughly 1,000 of the original 6,200—absorbed into the State Department. The move has sparked intense debate, with critics warning of dire global consequences and supporters hailing it as a victory over wasteful spending and foreign influence.
Rubio, who served as acting USAID administrator since February, declared the agency’s closure in a Substack post, stating, “This era of government-sanctioned inefficiency has officially come to an end.” He criticized USAID for fostering a “globe-spanning NGO industrial complex” that failed to advance U.S. interests, citing over $715 billion in adjusted cumulative expenditures with little measurable impact since the Cold War. Rubio highlighted alleged ties to Soros’ Open Society Foundations, which posts on X and reports from The National Pulse claim received over $260 million from USAID to fund leftist agendas, DEI initiatives, and foreign activist groups.
Established in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy to promote global stability through humanitarian aid and development, USAID disbursed $61 billion in foreign assistance last year, managing programs like PEPFAR, which combated HIV/AIDS. A Lancet study published Monday estimated USAID programs prevented 92 million deaths across 133 countries from 2001 to 2021, warning that the closure could lead to 14 million additional deaths by 2030 from diseases like AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. A senior State Department official dismissed these projections as based on “incorrect assumptions,” asserting that “life-saving work” like PEPFAR will continue under a “more efficient” model.
The closure, driven by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk, followed a six-week audit that axed 83% of USAID’s programs, including a $1.5 million DEI initiative in Serbia and a $70,000 “DEI musical” in Ireland. Over 12,000 of USAID’s 13,000 staff and contractors face layoffs, with only 718 transferring to the State Department. Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, alongside U2’s Bono, condemned the decision, with Obama calling it a “colossal mistake” and Bush noting the agency’s role in saving 25 million lives through PEPFAR.
Critics, including the American Foreign Service Association, argue the closure undermines U.S. soft power and could cede influence to China, while supporters, including some congressional Republicans, praise the move for prioritizing national interests. Posts on X have been polarized, with @MeghUpdates celebrating the shutdown as a blow to “Soros-backed networks,” while others lamented the loss of humanitarian programs, citing a Nigerian child’s death due to a USAID-funded clinic closure.
The State Department will now oversee foreign aid, with Rubio promising “accountability, strategy, and efficiency.” However, uncertainty surrounds programs in regions like Ukraine, where insiders fear initiatives may not survive the year. As the Trump administration reorients foreign assistance, the USAID closure marks a seismic shift in U.S. global engagement, with ripple effects already felt worldwide.
