Key facts
- The State Department's transfer of USAID programs was hampered by staffing shortages, IT issues, and delayed guidance.
- The transition involved aid projects valued at $51.5 billion.
- Approximately one-third of the State Department offices taking on these awards had no prior foreign assistance management experience.
- The department hired 838 new positions, falling short of bureau requests.
- Africa received the largest share of transferred awards, totaling $17 billion.
The U.S. State Department faced significant challenges during its rapid takeover of aid programs from the now-closed U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) last year, according to an internal watchdog report. President Donald Trump ordered the closure of USAID shortly after resuming office in January 2025, leading to the dismissal of over 10,000 employees and the cancellation of thousands of programs, which disrupted U.S.-funded aid operations.
The State Department's Office of Inspector General found that the transition, which involved 1,504 aid awards totaling $51.5 billion in obligated funds, occurred amidst the department's own reorganization. Officials cited the speed of the transition and evolving guidance as major hurdles. The report noted that earlier recommendations from the inspector general to facilitate the transition had not been implemented.
Further complicating matters, about a third of the State Department offices tasked with managing the transferred awards lacked prior experience in foreign assistance projects. While 838 new positions were created, this number fell short of the bureaus' requests. Guidance on updating aid award terms was not fully established until December, and an AI-driven data management tool introduced to assist with the transition suffered from data issues.
Africa received the largest number of transferred awards, with 639 projects valued at $17 billion. The Bureau of African Affairs, which assumed responsibility for most of these, requested 732 new positions but ultimately only hired 232 staff, primarily locally employed personnel.