WASHINGTON — Dressed in red and blue, hundreds of former USAID employees rallied at the Ronald Reagan Building on Friday to mark the one-year anniversary of the agency’s shutdown.
In January 2025, President Donald Trump issued a 90-day freeze on foreign aid activities, halting USAID’s food assistance, medical treatments and humanitarian aid to millions of people overseas. One month later, the administration put 4,700 on paid administrative leave and terminated 1,600 agency positions in the U.S., leaving thousands of American workers unemployed. USAID officially shut down on July 1, 2025.
Marissa Lemargie Lavaque is a former employee who attended the rally. She worked on projects in Somalia as the former deputy director of East African affairs, providing humanitarian assistance to those in need. She worked at USAID for 24 years.
Lemargie Lavaque attends a rally to mark the one year anniversary of USAID’s shutdown on Feb. 27, 2026. ” (Sarah Han/MNS)
In addition to job cuts, USAID’s dismantlement also caused severe global health consequences in developing countries across Sub‑Saharan Africa, Central America and the Middle East. HIV clinics closed, and refugees lost access to shelter, food, water and medical care. Over 781,000 adults and children have died since the agency’s shutdown, according to the Impact Counter data tracker.
Many protesters held anti-Trump signs to denounce the administration for stripping away American jobs and causing global humanitarian crises.
A protester held a sign that referred to President Trump’s broader efforts to dismantle federal agencies. (Sarah Han/MNS)
During the rally, former employees stood arm-in-arm with their colleagues. The crowd cheered after Austan Mogharabi, a former USAID employee who now works at the American Foreign Service Association, said former USAID workers “won’t stop finding ways to help those in need.”
Austan Mogharabi delivered a message of hope in his opening speech. (Sarah Han/MNS)
“Foreign aid wasn’t charity — it was strategic,” Mogharabi said.
