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5d ago

Millennium Challenge Corporation Effectively Shuttered by Federal Efficiency Initiative

The Department of Government Efficiency has announced the closure of MCC programs, termination of contracts, and near-total staff reductions, signaling a major shift in U.S. foreign aid strategy.

White House Senior Advisor Elon Musk walks to the White House after landing in Marine One on the South Lawn with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured) on March 9, 2025 in Washington, DC.
A view in 2012 of the Chalatenango Tech Institute in El Salvador, built with funding by the US Millennium Challenge Corporation with the goal of improving opportunities in the country's poor northern region
Police personnel use water cannon to disperse demonstrators in Kathmandu against a project of the US Millennium Challenge Corporation in February 2022
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Overview

  • The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has initiated the shutdown of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. development agency established in 2004 to spur economic growth through conditional grants.
  • MCC employees were notified via email of program closures, contract terminations, and staff reductions, with most employees offered buyouts or deferred resignation until September 30.
  • The agency’s workforce will be reduced to the statutory minimum, retaining only the acting CEO as required by law, effectively marking the end of MCC operations.
  • The MCC, which has operated in over 50 countries with a $900 million budget, has been a key U.S. tool for countering China’s Belt and Road Initiative by funding infrastructure projects and policy reforms abroad.
  • The closure reflects a broader rollback of U.S. foreign aid under the Trump administration, which has also targeted USAID, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and other development agencies.