The USAID purge is complete as thousands are pulled off the job and DC staff given 15 minutes to clear out their desks — here's what stripping down the agency means

Nearly two weeks prior to Rubio’s announcement, USAID employees were instructed to start clearing out their desks at the agency's Washington, D.C., office building. Staff were given up to 15 minutes to collect personal belongings at designated times, as thousands of workers were pulled off the job and overseas workers recalled. The Associated Press reported at the time over 5,600 staff had been put on leave or terminated since Feb. 24.

The agency had previously employed more than 10,000 people worldwide and provided aid to more than 100 countries. The government’s moves have effectively stripped down USAID. Here’s what that means.

The role of aid in influence

President Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office announcing a 90-day freeze in U.S. foreign development assistance. According to the order, the “United States foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values.” However, those who supported USAID say that shuttering the agency would not only endanger lives, but also endanger national security.

USAID was created in 1961, during the Cold War, as the international humanitarian and development arm of the U.S. government — in part aimed at countering Soviet influence abroad. In 1998, USAID was enshrined as its own federal agency funded by Congress.

It’s argued U.S. assistance continues to be a tool of influence worldwide today. USAID provided assistance to “strategically important countries” and assisted “U.S. commercial interests by supporting developing countries’ economic growth and building countries’ capacity to participate in world trade,” according to the Congressional Research Service.

In fiscal year 2023, USAID was responsible for around $42.5 billion in foreign assistance. Considering how much money is at stake, a freeze on spending is being felt globally — with many programs put on hold overnight. One veteran humanitarian worker told the BBC the pause was “like an earthquake across the aid sector.”

What are the implications of dismantling USAID?

Rubio stated that the remaining USAID programs would be moved under the State Department. This could potentially change the way aid is distributed, since USAID was able to provide assistance in countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with the U.S.

The implications of a USAID shutdown are many. For example, the early abrupt halt to funding nearly led U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in Syria — who oversee a makeshift prison of 9,000 to 10,000 ISIS fighters — to walk off the job. Officials view these ISIS fighters as a “potential terrorist army in waiting,” according to Politico, which is why the State Department scrambled to push through an exemption to reinstate funding.

Experts say the shuttering of USAID could also create more room for China to wield its influence.

“As China expands its diplomatic and economic influence around the world, American support for systems of oversight, accountability and sustainable economic and environmental decisions helps prevent China from entrapping countries in debt and diplomatic subservience and from monopolizing critical minerals or strategic access points,” according to a commentary from the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institution.

Democrats argue that without congressional assent, shuttering USAID is illegal. Several lawsuits have been filed over the past few weeks over its rapid shutdown. The final word on the agency may be determined by the courts.