USAID stopped running U.S. foreign disaster response on July 1, 2025. The U.S. Department of State now leads that work through its Bureau of Disaster and Humanitarian Response, announced on March 20, 2026. The bureau still responds to earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and similar disasters abroad, but with a smaller staff and a narrower focus. Businesses interested in this space should confirm the current agency before reaching out.
USAID stopped implementing foreign assistance because the Trump administration moved to fold most of its functions into the State Department. The process ran through most of 2025. A 90-day aid pause began in January, roughly 83 percent of USAID's programs were cancelled by March, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on July 1, 2025, that USAID would "officially cease to implement foreign assistance." State's Office of Inspector General later found the merger moved forward without a full workforce plan, and State absorbed the remaining work with a small fraction of USAID's former staff.
The practical consequence for anyone following this topic is simple. Information, contacts, and web pages built around USAID's old structure are outdated. State's Bureau of Disaster and Humanitarian Response, formally announced March 20, 2026, is the current lead agency for foreign disaster response.
The bureau's mandate is sudden-onset natural disasters and complex emergencies overseas, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and cyclones, flooding, landslides, and wildfires, along with drought and food security work that USAID's former Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance also handled. Earthquakes remain one of the clearest examples of this work because they require an immediate, coordinated response rather than the slower-moving programs typical of drought or development aid.
A significant overseas earthquake typically triggers a Disaster Assistance Response Team, a coordinating group that manages the U.S. government's response on the ground. The team often includes an Urban Search and Rescue element. Historically, only two U.S. teams, Fairfax County (Virginia) Fire and Rescue and the Los Angeles County Fire Department, were certified for this kind of international deployment, though more teams have since been added for larger responses.
After the search and rescue phase, the response typically moves through emergency medical support, shelter, water and sanitation work to prevent disease outbreaks, and logistics, often using U.S. military airlift to move teams and supplies. Reconstruction, when it happens, follows months or years later and involves a different, slower set of programs and partners.
The Turkey-Syria earthquake in February 2023 is a useful example of the response at scale. The U.S. deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team of more than 200 people, along with a search and rescue contingent of 161 members and 12 canines, and committed more than $185 million in aid. Morocco's 2023 earthquake shows the limits of that system. Morocco accepted ground teams from only four countries and turned away offers from others, including the United States, a reminder that the affected government controls who responds.
Venezuela's earthquakes in June 2026 offer the clearest look at how the new State-led model actually works. State deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team of more than 250 people and four search and rescue teams, committed more than $300 million, and brought in private partners including Starlink for connectivity and Walmart and Amazon for relief logistics. Older responses carry a caution, too. A Government Accountability Office review of Haiti's 2010 earthquake recovery found USAID built only 906 of a planned 4,000 houses, and more than 80 percent of those needed emergency repairs, a reminder that large disaster budgets do not automatically produce finished results.
Realistically, yes, but mostly as a subcontractor rather than a direct prime contractor. Most disaster funding moves as grants or cooperative agreements to established implementers and NGOs, not as construction contracts awarded directly to new businesses. Firms like Chemonics, DAI Global, and Tetra Tech have historically held the largest share of this work, and in 2026 the department has leaned further toward funding pre-vetted "trusted partners" such as Samaritan's Purse, World Vision, and Catholic Relief Services, sometimes through direct awards rather than open competition.
For businesses in construction, water systems, logistics, energy, connectivity, or health services, the more realistic path is subcontracting under one of these primes or NGOs rather than pursuing a direct award. This is a specialized, relationship-driven market, and it operates separately from domestic federal contracting.
Does USAID still exist?
USAID technically still exists as a legal agency because only Congress can formally abolish it, but it no longer implements foreign assistance. As of 2026, it has no significant operating staff or budget, and its former functions have moved to the State Department.
What happened to USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance?
The Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, USAID's former disaster response office, was reduced from more than 1,000 staff to a small remaining team folded into the State Department. Its disaster mission is now carried out by State's Bureau of Disaster and Humanitarian Response.
How does the U.S. decide whether to send disaster help?
The affected country makes the first decision. It can accept, limit, or decline outside assistance, as Morocco did in 2023. Once help is accepted, State coordinates the U.S. government response, including any search and rescue deployment.
Can a small business bid directly on U.S.-funded earthquake response work?
Direct prime awards are uncommon for new entrants because a small group of established implementers and NGOs currently receive most of the funding, including through direct awards to trusted partners. Subcontracting under one of those organizations is a more realistic entry point than pursuing a direct award.
Is this the same as domestic disaster contracting?
No. Foreign disaster response through the State Department is separate from domestic disaster recovery contracting handled under FEMA and the Stafford Act. The two use different agencies, funding sources, and registration paths, though both require an active SAM.gov registration.
Before pursuing any opportunity in this space, confirm you are looking at current information. USAID's old programs, contacts, and web pages are no longer the right reference point. For businesses in construction, water, health, energy, or logistics who want to explore this market, the next practical step is researching current implementing partners and NGOs active in recent responses and considering a subcontracting relationship rather than expecting a direct award.
This market is separate from domestic federal contracting, but an active SAM.gov registration still matters here. Primes and NGOs generally expect a subcontractor to already be registered and in good standing before they will consider bringing that business into a response effort, and the same registration supports any domestic federal work the business may pursue in parallel. If your SAM registration needs a review or renewal, USFCR's SAM Registration Assistance can help confirm the entity record is accurate and current before you reach out to a prime or NGO.