For the U.S. development community, 2025 will go down in history as a year of unprecedented change. We expected major reform; we got all-out upheaval. From the moment the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, descended on federal agencies and President Donald Trump issued executive orders demanding a sweeping rethink of U.S. foreign assistance, the sector has absorbed one earth-shaking blow after another.
Amid the disruption and rapid-fire reorganization, it hasn’t always been clear who is calling the shots. Elon Musk’s reign of demolition came to an abrupt end. Since then, political appointees, special advisers, and a slew of “acting” officials have jockeyed for influence and watched their stock rise and fall.