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I never know when to say USAID is “officially” done. It’s certainly been dismantled, though it’s also still in a constant state of flux. But if words like “abolish” and “final mission” aren’t official-sounding enough, I don’t know what is.
Also in today’s edition: Potentially massive layoffs at the World Health Organization. Plus, what are the U.S. courts up to?
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First came the list that the U.S. Congress had been demanding: a detailed breakdown of the thousands of USAID programs that didn’t survive the Trump administration’s aid freeze and the chosen few that did.
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Then, on Friday, Congress received a notification from the administration revealing its plans to shutter USAID and merge the beleaguered agency into the State Department — or, in White House speak, “abolish USAID as an independent establishment.”
That doesn’t mean the White House will have the last word. Congress still needs to pass a new law to eliminate the agency. Whether U.S. President Donald Trump waits on lawmakers or listens to them is another matter.
Regardless, plans are in place, as my colleagues Adva Saldinger and Elissa Miolene detail in their report.
The State Department will create a new Office of Global Food Security, which will house food security and humanitarian programs previously managed by USAID.
USAID’s remaining global health programs, including its HIV/AIDS work, will be managed by the State Department’s Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy.
All remaining USAID programs will be run by an “office of foreign assistance” within each of the State Department’s regional bureaus, which would also absorb any relevant functions of USAID’s regional bureaus. For example, the work of USAID’s Africa bureau would now be overseen by the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs.
Administrative functions will also be transferred in the first phase of the transition, set to be completed by July 1.
And if the message didn’t get through loud enough already, the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s official X account posted a meme of Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk, and the DOGE dog dancing while happily carrying a casket through what appears to be an African village, with the USAID emblem on the casket. Subtle.
Read: Trump administration reveals its plans to Congress to 'abolish' USAID
The restructuring plan wasn’t the only USAID-related bombshell that dropped Friday. The restructuring notification was sent the same day that Jeremy Lewin, newly minted deputy administrator of policy and programs at USAID, told the agency’s staff that they were embarking on their “final mission.”
It’s not a mission most would voluntarily sign up for.
Lewin’s email, sent to USAID personnel en masse and seen by Devex, said staff would be severed from the agency by one of two dates: July 1 or Sept. 2. It also gave them one of two options: be placed on “active duty” to wind down USAID or go on “voluntary administrative leave.”
At the same time, the State Department will conduct a separate, independent hiring process that could potentially pull recently fired USAID staffers back into the U.S. aid system. By July 1, the State Department will fully take over USAID’s remaining programming, “and many of our colleagues will depart for State or other opportunities.” And all those left, Lewin said, will supervise the “responsible decommissioning” of USAID’s assets, operations, and teams.
“By September 2, 2025, the Agency’s operations will have been substantially transferred to State or otherwise wound down,” Lewin wrote.
Read: USAID's 'final mission' email slashes agency's staff, one last time
The World Health Organization, staring down a $600 million hole in its budget for 2025, is pulling out all the stops to stanch the bleeding. That includes layoffs at “all levels and regions,” starting with senior leadership at headquarters — according to an email to staff from WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, seen by Devex.
In the wake of losing its top contributor after Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the U.N. agency, WHO froze hiring, curbed travel, and offered early retirement.
Despite the belt-tightening, “the prevailing economic and geopolitical conditions have made resource mobilization particularly difficult,” the email stated.
It’s unclear what the full impact on staff will be at this stage, my colleague Jenny Lei Ravelo writes, but the prioritization exercise that WHO has been undertaking is expected to be completed by the end of April.
Read: Faced with $600M income gap, WHO to scale back on work, staff, budget
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$27.55 billion
—That’s how much the Nutrition for Growth summit in Paris drummed up in commitments from donors to end malnutrition globally — breaking the record set at the previous N4G summit in Tokyo in 2021, Devex Senior Editor Tania Karas writes.
It was a rare sliver of hope in an otherwise bleak fundraising landscape. It also served as a surprising example of donors demonstrating they can live without the financial firepower of the U.S.
The Trump administration did not pledge or send a delegation to Paris. Other Western donors that have announced cuts include Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. But the N4G organizers — as well as an army of nutrition advocates — found others to more than fill the gap.
That included a slew of multilateral development banks and philanthropic foundations, from the African Development Bank to the Gates Foundation.
For Brieuc Pont, France’s special envoy on nutrition who was charged with putting on the two-day summit, the total amount raised came as a relief.
“I’ve always said it’s not a beauty contest,” he said of the one-upmanship of pledging conferences. “But it feels good to feel beautiful.”
Read: Nutrition for Growth summit raises $27B to end malnutrition
Here’s why I hesitate to say “officially” when it comes to the Trump administration’s quest to downsize the government: the courts.
To the White House’s immense frustration, judges have acted as a check on the president’s various power plays, including his efforts to nix USAID — which triggered a wave of legal challenges by everyone from fired contractors to unpaid implementing partners.
The initial flurry of lawsuits has died down, although they’ve left a trail of consequential rulings in their wake.
Judges have noted that the president’s foreign affairs powers are limited, that Congress controls government spending, and that the Trump administration must pay outstanding bills to foreign aid implementers
But it’s not been a grand-slam victory for Trump opponents either. On Friday, a federal appeals court lifted an order barring Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from further dismantling USAID, knocking down a lower court’s opinion that DOGE’s actions were likely unconstitutional.
More fundamentally, the courts have not reversed the termination of 86% of USAID programs or the extensive firing or furloughing of USAID staff and contractors.
Either way, all of the lawsuits are ongoing and likely to be that way for the foreseeable future as they wind their way through America’s grinding judicial system. In the meantime, Adva breaks down where the latest legal maneuvering stands.
Read: What's the status of all the lawsuits against Trump's aid freeze?
Cost-effectiveness is the guiding principle behind DOGE, which singled out USAID for lacking it. But Dean Karlan, the agency’s first chief economist, was trying to do just that — design more cost-effective programs and take an evidence-based approach to aid.
That was before DOGE burst onto the scene and Karlan resigned.
Today, Karlan still believes in the power of proof. Speaking at a recent Devex Pro event, he said that whatever becomes of USAID will need evidence-based approaches to funding programs and a greater focus on long-term and preventative measures.
The focus now, he argued, must be on preserving as much budget as possible and ensuring resources are used effectively.
“We should simplify and focus on specific types of interventions,” he said. “But we shouldn’t be getting rid of an entire sector of work.”
Read: Former chief economist talks on the end of USAID and what comes next (Pro)
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The death toll following the 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar has climbed to 1,700, and aid has begun to trickle in. [Reuters]
Eight medics for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society died on duty after the Israeli military fired on their ambulances. [The Guardian]
Representatives from more than 40 countries will participate in a two-day summit on illegal immigration in London this week. [BBC]
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Update, March 31, 2025: This article has been updated to clarify that the WHO is facing a $600 million deficit in its 2025 budget.
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