U.S. Agency for International Development adopted blanket "still interested" FOIA policy, threatening to close pending public-records requests

On September 16, 2025, the U.S. Agency for International Development published a Federal Register notice adopting a blanket "still interested" policy for pending Freedom of Information Act requests [1]. The notice applied to anyone with a FOIA request — including one transferred to USAID from another agency — filed before January 20, 2025, and required a response confirming continued interest by October 31, 2025 or the request would be administratively closed with no further action [1]. USAID said the reorganization of its operations in 2025, including the transfer of foreign-assistance functions to the State Department and a reduction-in-force affecting nearly all USAID personnel, had left it without the subject-matter experts and record custodians needed to process a growing backlog of older requests [1].

American Oversight warned USAID on October 31, 2025 that the policy had no basis in law, exceeded the agency's statutory authority, and was adopted without the notice-and-comment process the Administrative Procedure Act requires [2]. The group noted it had separately sued the Department of Energy weeks earlier over a nearly identical "still interested" requirement, warning at the time that the mechanism could "spread and gut the public's right to know across the federal government" if left unchecked [2]. USAID did not confirm what action, if any, it took in response, and it remains undocumented whether the agency has administratively closed any requests under the policy [3].

Following an August 5, 2026 ruling in which a federal judge vacated DOE's near-identical policy as exceeding its statutory authority under FOIA and the Administrative Procedure Act, American Oversight renewed its demand that USAID rescind its September 2025 notice and restore any improperly closed requests [3]. USAID has not been separately sued over its policy.