This week, President Donald Trump announced the closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the consolidation of its essential functions into the State Department. 

The independent agency has lost its way in recent years, funding some outlandish projects that conservatives have been keen to highlight as justification for its shutdown. However, the main goal of the agency is to expand U.S. global influence through acts of aid. 

Ignoring the merits of the action entirely, the most interesting question this action raises is, is any of this even legal? Absolutely not. 

USAID was created through executive order in 1961, but it has been propped up as an agency by Congress through various legislative actions. The Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 established USAID as an independent........

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