The US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) website went offline yesterday, intensifying concerns about the agency’s future amid President Trump’s sweeping freeze on foreign assistance.
This shutdown comes as thousands face furloughs and layoffs across global aid programs, with ripple effects reaching as far as Kenya, where hundreds of healthcare workers have been sent home.
The crisis began on January 20 when Trump implemented an unprecedented 90-day freeze on foreign assistance, leading to the shutdown of thousands of programs worldwide.
In Kenya alone, over 500 medical workers in Kisii County were placed on compulsory leave, while similar disruptions affected programs at the University of Nairobi and other regions.
Trump’s decision has sparked a constitutional showdown between the administration and Congress. Democrats argue that Trump lacks the legal authority to eliminate USAID, an independent agency established by President Kennedy in 1961 to counter Soviet influence during the Cold War.
Today, the agency serves as a key counterweight to China’s “Belt and Road” initiative.
Adding fuel to the fire, billionaire Elon Musk, who is advising Trump on government efficiency, endorsed calls to dissolve USAID on social media, declaring, “Live by executive order, die by executive order.”
This prompted a sharp response from Senator Chris Murphy, who characterized the potential move as despotic.
While Secretary of State Marco Rubio has moved to preserve some life-saving emergency programs, aid organizations report widespread confusion about which programs can continue operating.
The administration’s position is that the shutdown is already yielding results, with Rubio claiming the US is “getting a lot more cooperation” from aid recipients.
The current crisis echoes Trump’s first term, when his administration’s attempts to withhold congressionally appropriated funds were later ruled illegal by the General Accounting Office.
Despite representing less than 1% of the US budget, foreign assistance has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over American global leadership and fiscal responsibility.
