The Trump administration has terminated more than 5,300 grants and contracts managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development worth more than $27 billion, according to a document obtained by POLITICO.
The document, sent to Congress on Monday, also shows that nearly 900 programs worth about $8.3 billion have been retained. The information was current as of March 21, a USAID official told Congress, according to a separate document seen by POLITICO.
USAID retains 869 staffers, who work with the State Department to continue the agency’s “lifesaving and strategic aid programming,” according to that document. USAID had more than 10,000 employees as of Jan. 20, before Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency began dismantling the agency.
Some notable cuts include:
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$880 million for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which helps developing countries procure vaccines, covering the period from Sept. 30, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2030
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$262 million for UNAIDS, the United Nations HIV program, for the period from Sept. 19, 2022, to Sept. 24, 2026
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$57 million in tuberculosis research granted to Johns Hopkins University for the period from Aug. 1, 2022, to Sept 31, 2027
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$6.5 million to improve management of tuberculosis resistant to treatment in countries supported by USAID, for the period from Oct. 1, 2024, and Sept. 30, 2029
The Trump administration will continue several programs that provide food assistance in countries such as Zimbabwe and Tanzania and fight malnutrition among children in Yemen.
Many HIV programs will also continue, a $458 million effort between 2015 and 2026 to procure and supply rapid HIV test kits and another to reduce HIV infections in Malawi.
“Consistent with Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio’s statements, USAID’s continuing programs advance the core national interests of the United States,” the State Department said in an emailed statement.
“For example, USAID continues to support the U.S. coordinated, interagency response to the Ebola outbreak in Uganda; to provide lifesaving HIV care and treatment services; to provide emergency assistance in conflict zones; and to support key American strategic partners,” a spokesperson wrote in the email.
The State Department also sent Congress a list of the awards managed by the State Department that have been retained and terminated, which POLITICO also obtained.
Why it matters: The U.S. is the world’s largest global health and humanitarian donor. And global health and humanitarian experts have warned that the cuts, meant to realign foreign assistance with the administration’s “America First” policy, will lead to more people getting sick around the world and likely more deaths from treatable diseases.
Congressional Republicans have largely remained unimpressed by those concerns, noting the need for the U.S. to cut its trillion-dollar debt.
What’s next: The administration’s authority to end these programs is expected to be challenged by congressional Democrats as Congress is typically the one deciding how to spend U.S. funds.
Amy Mackinnon contributed to this report.
