As the Trump administration continues to make cuts to several federal agencies, USAID is struggling to function. A report from the Inspector General at the U.S. Agency for International Development said that staff reductions and a pause in funding put a billion dollars of taxpayer-funded humanitarian assistance at risk of spoilage.
According to USAID staff, this move has left $489 million of food assistance at ports, in transit, and in warehouses at risk of spoilage, unanticipated storage needs, and diversion.
“On January 24, 2025, the Secretary of State ordered a pause in all new obligations of foreign assistance funding pending an 85-day review of United States foreign assistance programs,” the report said. “The Secretary additionally ordered contracting and grant officers to issue stop-work orders for all existing foreign assistance awards. As such, all USAID programs were suspended, including those with funds already obligated and disbursed.”
USAID employs approximately 10,000 staff. Of that, approximately two-thirds of the Agency’s staff are stationed at more than 60 missions overseas. More than 90 percent of BHA’s workforce was furloughed or placed on administrative leave. BHA is responsible for providing humanitarian assistance, which includes food, water, shelter, emergency healthcare, sanitation and hygiene, and critical nutrition services.
“Recent widespread staffing reductions across the agency … coupled with uncertainty about the scope of foreign assistance waivers and permissible communications with implementers, has degraded USAID’s ability to distribute and safeguard taxpayer-funded humanitarian assistance,” the report said.
The pause in funding and reductions in staff has curtailed USAID to monitor two key oversight mechanisms; partner vetting and third-party monitors. The partner vetting mechanism “ensures that American taxpayer funds do not benefit terrorists and their supporters,” while third-party monitoring mechanism is used “for oversight of humanitarian assistance programs, particularly in dangerous locations where its staff cannot safely travel.”
“While the USAID OIG [office of inspector general] has previously identified gaps in the scope of partner vetting, 10 USAID staff have reported that the counter-terrorism vetting unit supporting humanitarian assistance programming has in recent days been told not to report to work (because staff have been furloughed or placed on administrative leave) and thus cannot conduct any partner vetting,” the report said.
With most of BHA staff on administrative leave, it prevents the Agency from responding to USAID OIG audit requests, reports of investigative findings, and other routine OIG oversight inquires.
“However, recent widespread staffing reductions across the Agency, particularly within BHA, coupled with uncertainty about the scope of foreign assistance waivers and permissible communications with implementers, has degraded USAID’s ability to distribute and safeguard taxpayer-funded humanitarian assistance,” the report said.
For more information on USAID OIG’s work or to report allegations of fraud, waste, corruption, and abuse, please visit the website.
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