Norms Impact
Musk’s Purges Suddenly Take a Horrific Turn—and Wreck an Ugly MAGA Lie
Terminating congressionally funded USAID lifesaving contracts—without a functional wind-down—turns executive “efficiency” into unilateral abandonment of human survival programs and public accountability.
Mar 1, 2025
Sources
Summary
The Trump administration terminated numerous USAID foreign aid contracts, including agreements to deliver Ready to Use Therapeutic Food to roughly 300,000 severely malnourished children, mostly in Africa. The cancellations follow mass firings at USAID tied to Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” initiative and culminate in the termination of 90 percent of USAID’s foreign aid contracts. The immediate consequence is that lifesaving supplies are stranded in U.S. warehouses while ongoing treatment and disease-prevention programs are disrupted or abandoned.
Reality Check
Weaponizing executive control over contracted humanitarian aid to abruptly halt lifesaving deliveries sets a precedent where essential public programs can be functionally erased through firings and contract terminations, bypassing meaningful accountability and leaving our institutions weaker and more arbitrary. Nothing here, on this record, clearly establishes a prosecutable federal crime; the conduct reads less like bribery or fraud and more like an abuse-of-power governance failure carried out through contracting and personnel authority. The democratic damage is still acute: Congress intended these funds and deliveries, yet the operational reality described—supplies stranded, partners abandoned, no wind-down—shows how easily rights and public commitments can be nullified when “review” becomes a pretext for destruction rather than lawful administration.
Media
Detail
<p>Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a peanut-, milk-, and vitamin-based paste manufactured in the United States and distributed through USAID, has been used for years to treat severe acute malnutrition. The Trump administration terminated multiple current USAID contracts for RUTF deliveries, according to Mana Nutrition, the Georgia-based nonprofit set to deliver them.</p><p>Mana CEO Mark Moore said boxes prepared for shipment are stored in a Georgia warehouse and may not be sent abroad. Moore estimated the cancellations mean about 300,000 children, mostly in Africa, will not receive the packets Congress intended to fund.</p><p>The cancellations occurred days after USAID firings affected personnel overseeing the latest contracting round. The terminations are part of a broader decision this week to end 90 percent of USAID’s foreign aid contracts. Former USAID global health leader Atul Gawande compiled, through communications with partners, a list of terminated programs including maternal and child care, malaria prevention, and efforts to thwart Ebola and bird flu. The New York Times identified additional terminated contracts affecting polio prevention, HIV and tuberculosis treatment, and clean drinking water programs.</p>