USAID officially shut down on Monday, marking the end of the United States’ primary global aid agency after 60 years. In an emotional virtual farewell, former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush joined Bono to denounce the agency’s dismantling ordered by the Trump administration.

Thousands of USAID employees tuned in to the private call, which included praise, grief, and anger over the agency’s closure. USAID had long supported global health, food security, education, and democracy efforts. Now, it’s being absorbed into the State Department under a new initiative called “America First.”

Obama And Bush Defend USAID

Obama called the USAID closure “a colossal mistake,” saying the agency’s humanitarian efforts would echo for generations. “Gutting USAID is a tragedy,” he said. He credited it for saving lives and growing international partnerships that helped U.S. economic interests.

Bush criticized cuts to his PEPFAR program, which provided HIV treatment worldwide. “Is it in our national interest that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is,” he told workers. Both leaders honored staffers whose work helped countries lift themselves from poverty and disaster.

Trump had previously labeled USAID a “radical left lunatic” agency and Elon Musk called it “criminal.” Critics say this rhetoric led to abrupt mass firings and blocked system access for workers.

Bono’s Tribute

Wearing shades and a cap, Bono surprised attendees with a heartfelt poem. He honored aid workers as “secret agents of international development” and directly condemned the decision to dismantle USAID. “They called you crooks. When you were the best of us,” he said.

He also referenced starving children, warning that many could die due to the loss of USAID funding. During the farewell, a UN food official broke down in tears while vowing that the U.S. aid mission would eventually return. Meanwhile, former world leaders from Liberia and Colombia joined the call to highlight USAID’s decades of life-saving work in conflict zones.

Now, the State Department plans to launch a new oversight agency later this week. However, critics warn that it may never match the global reach or credibility that USAID built over sixty years of service.