United States of America - February 2025

Following a January executive order that called for the suspension of Congress-approved foreign aid funds and the review of foreign aid programs, the Trump administration began placing thousands of employees of the US Agency for International Development on administrative leave. Despite ongoing litigation on the matter, by the end of February, officials had placed over half of USAID’s workforce of approximately 10,000 either on leave or had dismissed them, and announced only essential personnel (numbering in the several hundreds) would continue as part of the State Department. On 10 March, the Secretary of State announced the review of USAID’s programs had finalized; between 82 and 90 per cent of the agency’s programs have been terminated (representing about USD 51.6 billion in grants). According to the Secretary of State, the surviving programs would, in consultation with Congress, continue under the State Department. Despite USAID being a congressionally created agency, Republicans who hold a majority in both chambers have not pushed back on its dismantling.

Sources: TIME, ABC News, BBC, Just Security