KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – U.S. President Donald Trump called for the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Friday, citing alleged corruption concerns.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “The way money has been spent by USAID, so much of it fraudulently, is totally unexplainable.”
He added, “The corruption is at a level that has rarely been seen before. Close it down!”
Trump, a vocal critic of U.S. foreign spending, has called for the dissolution of USAID and its integration into the U.S. Department of State.
He has also suspended all U.S. foreign aid to other countries.
USAID was established in 1961 by the government of John F. Kennedy as the U.S.’s humanitarian arm and has since allocated billions of dollars to reduce poverty, treat diseases, and address famine and natural disasters in countries around the world, including Afghanistan.
As a major donor to Afghanistan, USAID has supported programs in education, healthcare, and food security. Following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, USAID shifted its focus to humanitarian relief, providing emergency food assistance and support to displaced populations. In 2023 alone, the agency delivered $1.4 billion in aid to Afghanistan.
According to the latest report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the U.S. has spent nearly $3.71 billion in Afghanistan since its withdrawal in 2021. Most of this funding (64.2%) was allocated to the UN agencies.
