Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, joined by U2 frontman Bono, publicly criticized the Trump administration this week following the formal closure of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The trio addressed USAID employees during a private videoconference on Monday, the same day the agency officially ceased operations after being absorbed into the State Department, as reported [1] by The New York Post.
USAID, founded under the Kennedy administration, had been under scrutiny for years over allegations of fraud, mismanagement, and misuse of taxpayer funds.
Earlier this year, the agency was targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which identified it as a key source of federal waste.
Former DOGE Director Elon Musk described USAID in February as “a viper’s nest of radical-left marxists who hate America.” The agency became one of the first targets of President Trump’s anti-corruption initiative and was eventually shut down following DOGE’s findings.
Despite the reported mismanagement, former Presidents Obama and Bush lamented the closure. In a pre-recorded video message shown to staff, Obama called the move “a colossal mistake” and added, “Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it’s a tragedy.”
Obama also predicted a future reversal, saying, “Sooner or later, leaders on both sides of the aisle will realize how much you are needed.”
Bush echoed those sentiments, stating, “You’ve showed the great strength of America through your work — and that is your good heart. Is it in our national interests that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is, and so do you.”
Bush referred to USAID’s involvement in a global HIV/AIDS program credited with saving lives during his administration.
Bono also addressed staff during the conference and read a poem mourning the agency’s closure. “They called you crooks. When you were the best of us,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who served as acting USAID administrator, announced the agency’s foreign aid programs would now fall under the State Department.
“Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War,” Rubio stated. “Development objectives have rarely been met, instability has often worsened, and anti-American sentiment has only grown.”
Rubio added, “This era of government-sanctioned inefficiency has officially come to an end.”
President Donald Trump previously praised DOGE’s work and cited USAID in his March address to Congress as a major source of waste.
Trump highlighted over $22 billion in identified waste, including examples such as “$45 million for diversity, equity and inclusion scholarships in Burma” and “$8 million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho.”
Secretary Rubio emphasized that future foreign assistance programs would be “delivered with more accountability, strategy, and efficiency” and only if they align with national interests.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also weighed in, posting on X, “In all my years of service, I found that foreign service officers and development professionals were among the most dedicated public servants I encountered.”
The Associated Press reported on the Monday videoconference, though no members of the press were invited to participate.