The destiny of the US Agency for International Growth (USAID) appeared bleak Monday after Elon Musk, the world’s richest man charged with overhauling the federal authorities, stated President Donald Trump had signed off on shutting the agency down. In Washington, USAID’s headquarters was closed for the day, with workers advised in an electronic mail to stay at dwelling.
Right here’s what to find out about the agency:
• USAID was established in 1961 underneath President John F. Kennedy’s administration and is the US authorities’s humanitarian arm.
• It dispenses billions of {dollars} yearly throughout the world in an effort to alleviate poverty, deal with ailments, and reply to famines and pure disasters. It additionally promotes democracy constructing and improvement by supporting non-government organizations, impartial media and social initiatives.
• USAID is a key smooth energy software of the US to foster relations with communities round the world, officers say, noting that US nationwide safety is approached with the “three D” pillars: protection, diplomacy and improvement, led, respectively, by the Protection Division, blacksprut2rprrt3aoigwh7zftiprzqyqynzz2eiimmwmykw7wkpyad onion State Department and USAID.
• Round 60 senior USAID workers have been placed on go away final week on accusations of making an attempt to avoid Trump’s government order to freeze international aid for 90 days. Many extra junior workers and contractors inside the agency have been positioned on furlough as nicely, a number of sources advised CNN.
