USAID closure will hurt America
The quiet shutdown of USAID isn’t just a bureaucratic change; it’s a blow to global stability, U.S. security, and moral leadership. The world feels it now, and America will feel it soon.
By Michael Boorstein
On July 1, the White House announced the closure of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Created by Congress in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy, USAID had long served as a key pillar of American diplomacy and soft power. Its dissolution, which Congress did not formally approve, barely registered with most Americans. But for those of us who spent our lives representing the United States abroad, it was a devastating day.
I served for 35 years as a foreign service officer, with postings across the globe. One of them was in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where USAID quietly helped transform communities. It partnered with local organizations to train election monitors, educate voters, and support democratic movements. These efforts weren’t imposed from Washington; they were locally driven and backed by American partnership. They also served U.S. interests: promoting democratic governance abroad reduces conflict, fosters stability, and builds trust. These efforts made Americans safer and our nation more respected.
Our daughter, raised overseas, worked at USAID in Washington, supporting missions in Europe and Eurasia, including Ukraine. Like thousands of American professionals, contractors, and local staff, she lost a job that she loved. Her loss is part of a broader national setback – one that undermines our security, economy, and global leadership.
USAID was never a charity; it was a strategic tool of U.S. foreign policy. As diplomats, we advanced American ideals. USAID provided the resources and expertise to make these ideals real through grants, training, and technical support.
USAID partnered with hundreds of nonprofit organizations, including many faith-based groups. It earned trust, opened doors, and built lasting goodwill globally.
By 2023, USAID had become one of the world’s largest aid organizations, operating in over 100 countries. It addressed urgent global challenges: HIV/AIDS, food insecurity, education, agriculture, disaster relief, and democratic reform. USAID’s $40 billion annual budget represented less than 1% of the federal budget. (It cost the average American about 18 cents per day, according to UCLA researchers.)
The consequences of USAID’s closure are already being felt. Food insecurity is rising. Maternal and child health systems are collapsing. Emergency responses in war zones – from Ukraine and Sudan to Gaza and Syria – are faltering. And while the United States retreats, others – particularly China – are stepping in to fill the void. Since USAID began winding down earlier this year, an estimated 308,000 people have died – 208,000 of them children. According to The Lancet, over the next five years, 14 million deaths could occur due to lost services, including 4.5 million children under age 5. Health care disruptions alone may lead to 2.4 million preventable deaths annually.
Critics claim USAID was bloated or ideologically biased. For example, U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, of Sarasota, Florida, supported the abolition of the USAID: he said the agency was out of step with an “America First” agenda. That view hurts America.
For more than six decades, USAID has had bipartisan support. Democratic and Republican presidents alike recognized that foreign assistance advanced both American values and national interests.
As someone who spent a career strengthening America’s global reputation, I fear the damage we have done by walking away. We’ve opened the door to instability, migration, disease, and extremism – threats that don’t stay overseas.
USAID was an investment in a safer world, and one far cheaper than military engagement. Abandoning it signals a retreat from American leadership and moral authority. It tells the world that we no longer show up – until it’s too late.
American communities may feel far from the front lines of global diplomacy, but we are not immune to its consequences. And we are not powerless. Let us raise our voices. Let’s remind our elected leaders that this matters – not just for the world but for us as well.
It is time to restore one of the most effective, low-cost tools we have ever had to build a healthier, more secure, and more humane world.
Michael Boorstein was a career foreign service officer for 35 years, serving at seven posts overseas in Europe, Africa, East Asia, and Latin America. He is the vice president of the Sarasota Institute of Lifelong Learning. He resides in Longboat Key, Florida.