USAID to cease providing foreign aid on July 1 — programs transferred to State Department

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will officially cease administering foreign assistance programs on July 1. Some of these programs will be transferred to the State Department.

This was announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the Substack platform.

From now on, foreign assistance programs that are consistent with the administration’s policies and advance US interests will be administered by the State Department. According to Rubio, this will allow them to be implemented with “greater accountability, strategy and efficiency.”

“We will not apologize for recognizing that America’s long-standing commitment to humanitarian assistance and economic development abroad must be aimed at advancing America’s foreign policy above all else,” the Secretary of State emphasized.

What is known about the closure of USAID

On February 24, 2025, the Trump administration began massive cuts to USAID, which will affect thousands of employees.

On March 10, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the US State Department was officially closing 83% of USAID programs after a six-week audit. On March 20, Trump unveiled a plan to overhaul the US foreign aid program, focusing funding on priorities that align with the country’s geopolitical interests.

On April 7, the United Nations warned that cuts to aid budgets risked increasing maternal and child mortality.

A New York Times investigation found that as of May 7, more than half of USAID’s remaining programs were dedicated to crisis response, disaster relief, and conflict relief. Some programs to combat malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV also remained.

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