Following a 90-day review ordered by President Donald Trump, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will terminate approximately 5,800 grants valued at roughly $54 billion, according to a State Department memo cited by the Washington Free Beacon. This move marks a dramatic 92% reduction in USAID’s multi-year grant spending, as the administration seeks to overhaul foreign assistance programs.
In addition to USAID, the review identified $4.4 billion in State Department grants for elimination, reinforcing Trump’s broader effort to curb international aid expenditures. The State Department pledged to “reform the way the United States delivers foreign assistance” and address what it called “decades of institutional drift.” The administration argues that these cuts will streamline aid distribution and refocus U.S. resources on national interests.
Further restructuring plans include slashing USAID’s workforce from 10,000 employees to under 300, with remaining staff and responsibilities being transferred to the State Department. The cuts represent one of the most significant reductions in U.S. foreign aid in decades, underscoring Trump’s long-standing criticism of excessive government spending on international programs.
