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A Look into Trump's International Policy: An End to 'Independent' Foreign Assistance USAID
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which was created by J.F. Kennedy in 1961, is threatened to collapse under the administration of Donald Trump in 2025. There have been many rumors surrounding the nature of the stop-work order that was announced to all USAID funded programs on the 20th of January 2025. The order has come in response to the 90-day review period for all foreign assistance. With that being said, a lot of questions are put forward on the table
CIVIL SOCIETYEDUCATIONDEMOCRACYPOLITICS
Marina Daniel
2/5/20254 min read


The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which was created by J.F. Kennedy in 1961, is threatened to collapse under the administration of Donald Trump in 2025. There have been many rumors surrounding the nature of the stop-work order that was announced to all USAID funded programs on the 20th of January 2025. The order has come in response to the 90-day review period for all foreign assistance. With that being said, a lot of questions are put forward on the table:
Why was the USAID created in the first place?
Is USAID causing a threat to the coming agenda of Donald Trump?
Why hasn’t Trump decided to pause USAID missions during his earlier presidency in 2017?
Is it really in the best interest of the United States to terminate the work of USAID?
Would there be any other funding agencies taking over the role of USAID globally?
While some of these questions are still under investigation as Trump’s agenda unveils over time, we can analyze a lot by screening history, reading between the underlying news, and examining Trump’s recent speeches.
History of the U.S. Agency for International Development - USAID
With the aim of overcoming bureaucratic structures, Kennedy appealed to Congress. He argued that there should be a unified aid agency to advance America’s moral, economic, and strategic considerations in a world where totalitarianism and instability were profound threats. With all the next administrations, the work of USAID seemed vital.
Foreign assistance has been viewed as a valuable foreign policy tool in terms of promoting U.S. security and economic interests. Over the years, USAID’s work has reflected a dark side. In the 2000s, while the U.S. military was bombing Iraq and Afghanistan, USAID was tasked with “rebuilding” the two countries, supposedly with an eye to getting the most bang out of its funding allocations. The lines between war and development aid started blurring.
Trump’s America First: 2017 Vs. 2025
The pausing, and maybe possible termination, of foreign assistance through USAID might have shocked many. However, the America First policy has been there ever since Trump’s first presidency term in 2017. That year, Harris, Gramer and Tamkin wrote to the Foreign Policy news saying,
“President Donald Trump’s vow to put “America first” includes a plan to drastically cut assistance to developing countries and merge the State Department with USAID, according to an internal budget document and sources.” An executive order was released back then highlighting the necessity to reorganize the agency, if appropriate, in order to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of that agency.
Though the 2017 actions were not aggressive, Trump's agenda has been consistent since his first term in office. The only difference now is the unyielding severity with which Trump has imposed the sudden stop-work-orders.
Current Status: Expected Future
The administration has initiated a 90-day pause on foreign assistance and is performing a program-by-program review to evaluate which projects align with the goals of enhancing America's safety, strength, and prosperity. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has criticized USAID's work and labeled the organization as ‘criminal’. Though there is no proof of any underlying agenda inUSAID’s mission, Musk’s characterization seems to reflect a broader political debate rather than an accurate depiction of the organization’s actual operations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, currently acting as the USAID's administrator, noted that the agency is expected to follow State Department policy directives but refuses to do so. This leads to the analysis that it might be in the best interest of the United States to control the programs and missions of the agency under the umbrella of the state rather than having an independent agency doing so.
Such a move, nevertheless, sheds light on the path the United States is deciding to embark on. A path not only advancing the needs of the country, but also undermining the power of other states. A path of zero-sum game, where the loss of one party means the other’s win. In the context of international relations, this perspective can lead to competitive and adversarial approaches where nations view the success of others as a threat to their own interests. The question here persists, how will the world react to such an aggressive policy?
references:
Harris, B., Gramer, R. and Tamkin, E. (2017). The End of Foreign Aid As We Know It. Retrieved from: https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/04/24/u-s-agency-for-international-development-foreign-aid-state-department-trump-slash-foreign-funding/
Khastagir, S. (2021). Aid for Profit: The Dark History of USAID. Retrieved from: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2021/03/aid-for-profit-the-dark-history-of-usaid
Norris, J. (2014). Kennedy, Johnson and the early years. Retrieved from: https://www.devex.com/news/kennedy-johnson-and-the-early-years-83339
Tanis, F. (2025). U.S. puts virtually all foreign aid on 90-day hold, issues 'stop-work' order. Retrieved from: https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/01/24/g-s1-44643/trump-foreign-aid-assistance-pause
About the Author:
Marina Daniel is a seasoned community development and sustainability consultant and the head of the Business Development Unit at Aspire Community Transformation, part of Aspire Consulting International. Marina also works with Giving Circles-MENA as a consultant where she utilizes her business development skills to promote for critical causes in our Middle East.
She holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from the British University in Egypt, specializing in gender mainstreaming, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Law and Politics at UNICAF University, focusing on the increasing social exclusion of refugees in the Middle East, and particularly Lebanon