And the good news just keeps piling up

State Department formally shutters USAID after Trump court victory

WASHINGTON — The State Department formally announced Friday it is closing the US Agency for International Development (USAID) after the Trump administration prevailed in a federal court case challenging the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) cost-cutting actions.

“Foreign assistance done right can advance our national interests, protect our borders, and strengthen our partnerships with key allies. Unfortunately, USAID strayed from its original mission long ago. As a result, the gains were too few and the costs were too high,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

Ex-DOGE official Jeremy Lewin announced USAID’s shuttering in an internal memo earlier Friday — and said the State Department “intends to assume responsibility for many” of the agency’s functions and programs, according to ABC News.

With an annual budget of roughly $40 billion, USAID was responsible for funding critical health care and foreign aid programs but had also been criticized by Republican lawmakers for years for footing the bill for left-wing programs.

House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Brian Mast (R-Fla.) had called out several USAID grants last month — including $2.5 million for electric vehicles in Vietnam, $47,000 for “a transgender opera in Colombia” and $32,000 for the production of a Peruvian “transgender comic book,” the Daily Mail first reported.

Per the State Department memo, USAID may now rehire some employees to “assume the responsible administration of USAID’s remaining life-saving and strategic aid programming” while “all non-statutory positions at USAID will be eliminated.”

“This transfer will significantly enhance efficiency, accountability, uniformity, and strategic impact in delivering foreign assistance programs — allowing our nation and President to speak with one voice in foreign affairs,” the memo stated.

“It will also obviate the need for USAID to continue operating as an independent establishment.”

It’s likely the move, coupled with the circuit court’s dismissal of the temporary restraining order against DOGE, will result in further legal challenges.

With 677 active lower court federal judges lurking in courtrooms around the country and billions of dollars available to file delaying lawsuits, the Post’s prediction of “further legal challenges” to DOGE is certain to come true, but any victory in this war is always welcome.