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The Trump administration is considering merging USAID with the State Department. This move would significantly change how the U.S. allocates foreign aid, aligning it more closely with Trump’s “America First” policy. The administration is exploring legal avenues for President Trump to issue an executive order to end USAID’s independence. However, it’s unclear if he has the authority to bypass Congress.

The potential merger has raised concerns about the impact on global humanitarian aid and development assistance. While development programing has been under the Director of Foreign Assistance (F) at State since the last Bush administration, USAID was able to preserve programs that took more time to realize their impact, such as institution building for greater localization and policy reform to support market investments. State more often pressured USAID for quick, measurable results in response to the metrics driven process.

An announcement and executive action is expected soon.

Read the Reuters’ story here