The Second Trump Administration and Development: The First 100 Days

CGD experts explore the aid and development policies of the second Trump administration.

More from the Series

Blog Post
Lessons of Experience for a USAID-State Merger
March 18, 2025
The Trump Administration has signaled that it would like to shut down USAID and absorb its programs into the State Department. That proposal should involve Congress directly, as USAID is an independent agency established under legislation. And lawmakers might want to consult the international record...
Blog Post
How Many Lives Does US Foreign Aid Save?
March 15, 2025
We present some estimates for lives saved by US assistance worldwide, with illustrative estimates by recipient country. Our core estimates are for deaths prevented from HIV/AIDS, vaccine-preventable illnesses covered by Gavi, tuberculosis, malaria, and emergency/humanitarian relief. We suggest the n...
Blog Post
The USAID Cuts: Little Sign of Mercy for “Life-Saving” Health Programs
March 14, 2025
The bottom line: we estimate the cancelled awards represent somewhere over 34 percent of USAID programming. And notably, “life-saving” program areas like maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis are not spared from major cuts. But there’s a lot of guesswork in those estimates.
Blog Post
How Low Will the US Go on Foreign Assistance?
March 06, 2025
Following the termination of thousands of USAID contracts and the overnight effort to shut down the agency itself, we have taken a closer look at the stakes for multilateral development banks (MDBs) and major vertical funds related to health, food, and climate that are recipients of US funding. In ...