(TNND) — The doors are officially closed at the United States Agency for International Development.
USAID saw more than 80% of its programs cancelled in March as part of President Trump’s plan to remove wasteful spending; the rest of the programs have now been absorbed by the State Department.
This was one of the first targets by the Department of Government Efficiency and billionaire Elon Musk in shrinking the federal government.
USAID was created to provide aid around the world and its closing has drawn a lot of criticism, most recently by former Presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush. According to reporting by the BBC, USAID previously employed some 10,000 people, many working overseas.
Bush and Obama took part in a video farewell for USAID staffers on Monday with U2 singer Bono, and thanked everyone and their efforts.
Former President Obama said, “Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it’s a tragedy. Because it’s some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world,” adding: “your work has mattered and will matter for generations to come.”
Former President Bush spoke about the cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, “Is it in our national interests that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is, and so do you.”
According to a warning published by researchers in the Lancet medical journal, the aid cuts could cause more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030.
The move by the Trump administration is to put America first and to funnel more spending around the globe to right here at home.