Former USAID head grieves its closure while hoping for its future
Source: NPR
Updated July 3, 2026 12:47 PM ET
When Samantha Power walked out of the United States Agency for International Development's headquarters in Washington, D.C., for the last time on January 20, 2025, she had no idea what was to become of the agency she had led for the Biden administration for the past four years.
Within days, the new Trump administration had put a stop work order on all U.S. foreign assistance, halting thousands of programs around the world — including emergency lifesaving ones — and began dismantling USAID. "I was as shocked as I was horrified," Power said in an interview with NPR. "I could not believe in the first instance that any human would suspend assistance, particularly life-saving assistance, without taking into account the human consequences or trying to do so in a manner that would allow people to make adjustments."
Power was the last confirmed administrator of the 64-year-old agency — USAID was officially shut down in July 2025. It had employed around 15,000 people globally, and managed thousands of programs aimed at fighting disease and poverty. Only a handful of former agency staff now work at the State Department, and most of the programs were terminated.
A year later, Power is still grappling with the loss and legacy of USAID and is filled with indignation over the administration's treatment of its staff. "It was so cruel, and it was as if cruelty was the point," Power says of the way the administration went about the dismantling.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/07/03/nx-s1-5877408/former-usaid-head-grieves-its-closure-while-hoping-for-its-future