Hello, and welcome to a special edition of Devex Pro Insider. I’m Michael Igoe, and this is where we tackle big questions about how power, money, and influence are reshaping U.S. foreign aid.
We’ve been writing a lot about the future of U.S. foreign aid and what American soft power looks like in a post-USAID world. There’s one hiccup in that narrative, though: USAID technically still exists, and closing up shop has proven easier said than done.
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been digging into that closeout process. While the political appointees at the White House Office of Management and Budget who are in charge have been tight-lipped about how they are going about it, some former USAID officials who were recently involved in the effort have been willing to talk.