State Department Refugee Office Takes Over Overseas Disaster Response From Dismantled USAID, Raising Expert Concerns

The State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration will assume leadership of U.S. overseas disaster response operations from the dismantled U.S. Agency for International Development, raising concerns among disaster relief experts about the office’s preparedness for managing international humanitarian crises.

What Happened: The Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) is taking over foreign disaster response duties from USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, according to excerpts from an internal State Department cable, Reuters reported. The cable, sent to diplomatic posts worldwide this week, authorizes up to $100,000 for initial disaster responses with PRM approval.

Only 20 experts from USAID’s original 525-person disaster response team are being transferred to PRM, according to a source familiar with the matter. Jeremy Konyndyk, former director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Relief and current president of Refugees International, called the arrangement “ridiculous,” stating that “PRM is not an operational entity” and lacks disaster response capabilities.

The transition follows USAID’s dismantlement, overseen by Elon Musk as part of President Trump’s government reduction initiative. Most of USAID’s 10,000 staff have been placed on administrative leave, facing termination, with thousands of contractors already fired and billions in humanitarian programs canceled.

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Why It Matters: The restructuring threatens America’s disaster response capabilities as the Caribbean hurricane season approaches. Konyndyk warned the U.S. can no longer mobilize its world-leading Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs), stating the PRM cannot replicate these specialized units’ operational mechanics.

The policy shift extends beyond international disasters. The Trump administration denied federal disaster aid to tornado-stricken Arkansas in April, pushing responsibility to states following executive orders redirecting disaster recovery from federal to local authorities. Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders appealed the denial, warning of “significant challenges” without federal assistance.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates challenged the USAID dismantlement, questioning whether shuttering the agency aligns with American values given its role in keeping “tens of millions of Africans alive” with just “half a percent of the budget.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, now USAID’s acting director, defended restructuring efforts, claiming the agency had evolved beyond U.S. national interests.

The administration’s broader disaster policy changes include plans to abolish FEMA, the agency responsible for billions in annual disaster management assistance, fundamentally altering America’s humanitarian response infrastructure.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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