Kennedy to unite several foreign assistance organizations and programs under one agency. USAID has faced scrutiny over its role in political operations of influence abroad and potential conflicts of interest. In January , the Trump administration ordered a near-total freeze on foreign aid, making false and misleading allegations of wasteful spending and fraud [ 5 ] and planning to reduce employee numbers from around 10, to The goal of this agency was to counter Soviet Union influence during the Cold War and to advance US soft power through socioeconomic development.
Kennedy , who sought to unite several existing foreign assistance organizations and programs under one agency.
Congress authorizes USAID's programs in the Foreign Assistance Act , [ 16 ] which Congress supplements through directions in annual funding appropriation acts and other legislation. As an official component of U. Department of State.
When the U. Except for the peak years of the Vietnam War , β70, that was more U. After his inauguration as president on January 20, , John F. On March 22, he sent a special message to Congress on foreign aid, asserting that the s should be a "Decade of Development" and proposing to unify U.
This structure has continued to date. In , USAID's Inspector General had launched a probe into Starlink , which is operated by Musk; this led to concerns that the latter's role in the agency's downsizing constituted a conflict of interest.
