Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush issued rare public criticisms of the Trump administration during an emotional farewell video with staffers of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Monday.
Meanwhile, singer Bono, a noted left-wing activist, visibly moved, struggled to hold back tears as he recited a poem, while Obama described the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID as “a colossal mistake.”
Monday marked the final day of USAID’s existence as an independent agency. Founded six decades ago by President John F. Kennedy, USAID was established as a peaceful means of advancing U.S. national security by fostering goodwill and prosperity abroad.
But the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency found reams of corruption linked to the agency, and the Justice Department last month convicted two people who bilked the agency out of millions of dollars.
Also, on Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the agency to be absorbed into the State Department.
The former presidents and Bono addressed thousands within the USAID community during a video conference described as a closed-press event, intended to provide political leaders and participants privacy for candid, often emotional remarks. Portions of the video were later shared with The Associated Press, the newswire service reported.
They expressed deep appreciation for the thousands of USAID staffers who have lost their jobs and dedicated careers. USAID was among the first and most heavily targeted agencies for budget cuts under President Donald Trump and Musk, with staffers suddenly locked out of systems and offices and notified of their termination via mass emails.
Trump claimed the agency was run by “radical left lunatics” and rife with “tremendous fraud.” Musk called it “a criminal organization.”
In a recorded statement, Obama told USAID staffers that their work mattered. “Your work has mattered and will matter for generations to come,” he said, per the AP.
“Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it’s a tragedy. Because it’s some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world,” Obama said. He credited USAID with not only saving lives, but being a main factor in global economic growth that has turned some aid-receiving countries into US markets and trade partners.
The 44th president predicted that ”sooner or later, leaders on both sides of the aisle will realize how much you are needed.”
When asked for comment, the State Department stated that it plans to introduce the successor to USAID, a new foreign assistance agency called America First, later this week.
In a recorded message, Bush directly addressed the cuts to a landmark AIDS and HIV program initiated by his Republican administration, which has been credited with saving 25 million lives worldwide.
“You’ve showed the great strength of America through your work – and that is your good heart,’’ Bush told USAID staffers. “Is it in our national interests that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is, and so do you.”
But clearly, the agency had its problems as well, and corruption was a big one.
After a massive bribery scandal was exposed there, the Small Business Administration last week launched a full audit of every government contracting officer who awarded grants under its business development program going back 15 years.
In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler called the fraud a “damning reflection of systemic failures in oversight and accountability,” and said it “was not an isolated incident.”
Loeffler ordered Associate Administrator Tre Pennie, who oversees SBA contracting, to “act decisively” and begin a full-scale audit of all awarding officers dating back to 2010,” Fox News reported.
Roderick Watson, a longtime USAID contracting officer, recently pleaded guilty to “bribery of a public official” for his role in a massive kickback scheme that ran from 2013 to 2020.
The DOJ said Watson took bribes from Walter Barnes, owner of Vistant, and Darryl Britt, owner of Apprio, with the help of subcontractor Paul Young.
