Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, alongside U2 frontman Bono, addressed USAID employees on Monday in a video message as the agency officially shut down following allegations of fraud and mismanagement. The event was held privately, but clips later surfaced showing the former presidents and Bono speaking directly to staff.
“Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it’s a tragedy,” Obama said. “It’s some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world.” He added that closing the agency was “a colossal mistake” and expressed hope that future leaders would recognize the staff’s value.
Bush, typically reserved in his criticism of former President Donald Trump, acknowledged the closure marked the end of a major initiative from his administration—the AIDS and HIV relief program credited with saving 25 million lives globally. “You’ve showed the great strength of America through your work—and that is your good heart,” he said.
Bono, reading a poem to mark the agency’s end, warned that the closure could lead to widespread suffering. “They called you crooks. When you were the best of us,” he said, emphasizing the humanitarian impact of USAID’s work.
The agency, founded under the Kennedy administration to provide foreign economic aid, was targeted earlier this year by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), established under Trump to eliminate federal waste. DOGE had criticized USAID as “a viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists,” prompting calls for reform. USAID was officially absorbed by the State Department on Tuesday, marking the end of its independent operations.
