While various proposals suggesting how the U.S. Agency for International Development might merge with the State Department have circulated for weeks, the speculation is now over.
The Trump administration has outlined its plans to shutter USAID and merge some of its functions and programs into the State Department in a congressional notification that was obtained by Devex.
The administration plans to propose legislation to formally “abolish USAID as an independent establishment” as part of its budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2026, according to the congressional notification sent on Friday by Paul Guaglianone, the State Department’s senior official in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs.
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About the authors
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
