Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama came together with U2 frontman Bono to deliver an emotional farewell to USAID employees and issue sharp criticism of President Donald Trump’s decision to shut down the agency.
Speaking via videoconference, the three men addressed staff on what was officially the agency’s final day, after a federal investigation into alleged corruption and mismanagement led to its closure.
Obama, in a heartfelt video message, called the move “a colossal mistake” and “a tragedy,” praising USAID’s
work as some of the most important being done anywhere in the world. He urged staff to remember their value, predicting that leaders from both parties would one day realize just how essential they were.
Bush, who rarely speaks out against Trump, lamented the loss of a program that was central to his presidency—
the AIDS and HIV relief initiative credited with saving 25 million lives worldwide.
“You’ve shown the great strength of America through your work—and that is your good heart,” he told staff. “Is it in our national interest that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is, and so do you.”
Bono contributed a poem he had written for the occasion, warning that closing USAID would lead to suffering across the globe.
His words added a personal and artistic weight to the already emotional gathering.
Founded during the Kennedy administration to deliver foreign economic assistance, USAID became one of the first agencies targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), created by Trump to root out what he described as waste.
Then-DOGE head Elon Musk condemned the agency as “a viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America,” framing the decision as a necessary cleanup.
On Tuesday, USAID was officially absorbed into the State Department, effectively ending its independent role in global development and humanitarian aid
. For its supporters, the closure represents not just a bureaucratic shift,
but the loss of a mission that showcased America’s compassion and leadership on the world stage. For its critics, it’s the long-overdue dismantling of a bloated and mismanaged institution.
Either way, the moment marked the end of an era—one that,
for many of the agency’s employees, was defined by decades of service, countless lives saved, and a shared belief that the United States could make a difference far beyond its own borders.
