Why is Trump pulling the plug on USAID?

President Donald Trump’s administration is dismantling the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

For decades, it has been distributing life-saving medications, combating the spread of disease and providing relief in conflict zones.

Thousands of employees have been placed on leave and aid recipients in more than 130 countries have been left in limbo.

Spearheading federal budget cuts is billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency.

But who will fill the void? And what does it mean for global US influence?

Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam

Guests:

Hardin Lang – Vice president for programmes and policy at Refugees International

Natasha Lindstaedt – US foreign policy specialist and a professor of government at the University of Essex

Alan Boswell – International Crisis Group’s project director for the Horn of Africa