In a rare show of bipartisan unity, former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama sharply criticized President Donald Trump on Monday, as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) marked its final day as an independent agency. The emotional virtual farewell was also marked by U2 frontman Bono fighting back tears as he paid tribute to the agency’s legacy.
Obama called the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID “a colossal mistake” and a tragedy, underscoring the critical global work the agency has done for more than 60 years. Bush, meanwhile, defended his administration’s landmark PEPFAR AIDS program—partly administered through USAID—and said its success had “shown the great strength of America.”
“Is it in our national interest that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is. And so do you,” Bush told staff in a recorded message.
Monday marked the last official day for USAID, founded in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy to advance U.S. national security through humanitarian and development efforts abroad. Beginning Tuesday, the agency will be absorbed into the State Department under a reorganization ordered by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The new entity replacing USAID will be called America First, according to State Department officials.
The Trump administration, with strong backing from billionaire Elon Musk, had targeted USAID early for elimination. Staffers were reportedly locked out of their systems and terminated en masse by email.
Trump had derided the agency as being filled with “radical left lunatics” and rife with “tremendous fraud.” Musk went further, labeling it a “criminal organization.”
Thousands of former USAID employees joined the private video farewell, which was closed to the press but portions of which were shared with the Associated Press. The mood was often somber, with former diplomats, foreign leaders, aid workers, and musicians delivering heartfelt tributes.
Obama praised the agency’s achievements, noting its vital role in preventing famines, reducing poverty, curbing disease, promoting democracy, and turning aid recipients into U.S. trade partners.
“Gutting USAID is a travesty,” Obama said. “Your work has mattered — and will continue to matter — for generations to come.”
Though he has largely refrained from criticizing Trump during his second term, Obama made clear that the agency’s closure marks a significant loss for America’s global leadership. He predicted that “sooner or later, leaders on both sides of the aisle will realize how much you are needed.”
The Biden-initiated PEPFAR program was one of USAID’s most high-profile achievements, credited with saving tens of millions of lives across the globe. Recent rule changes under the Trump administration have weakened its reach and cut services for many in need, despite bipartisan resistance in Congress.
Also joining the tribute were former Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, and former U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. One aid worker, now an adult, shared how she first encountered USAID as a frightened 8-year-old girl in a Liberian refugee camp.
Bono, announced as a surprise guest, referred to the agency’s employees as “secret agents of international development,” a nod to the closed-door nature of the event. Fighting back emotion, he recited a poem he had written in tribute to the agency.
“They called you crooks. When you were the best of us,” Bono said, referencing Trump and Musk’s attacks.
“Children are dying of malnutrition because of these cuts. That’s not politics — it’s cruelty.”
A spokesperson for the State Department told the AP that America First would aim to “streamline foreign aid and ensure all U.S. taxpayer dollars align with national interests.”
But for many at Monday’s farewell, the closure of USAID felt like a loss of American identity.
“This was not just an agency,” said a World Food Program official. “It was a symbol of what America could be at its best. And we will bring it back.”
