USAID: Regime Changer Disguised as Charity
President Trump’s decision to suspend most U.S. foreign aid has been followed up by an unprecedented stop-work order at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Alongside the suspension, which has been temporarily restrained by a federal judge, Trump accused the agency of being corrupt, wasteful, and politically bias in ways that run counter to America First principles. The head of DOGE , Elon Musk, has also called USAID a “criminalization organization” and declared that it’s time for it “to die.” Considering that the agency has always been a Cold War relic disguised as a humanitarian department, its demise would be long overdue.
Like most government departments, what they proclaim to be on stage is rarely who they really are behind the scenes. The same applies to USAID, which claims to be an agency that extends assistance to countries that are “recovering from disaster” and “trying to escape poverty.” While these are notable goals – if only they weren’t accomplished by extorting American taxpayers – the agency also proudly admits that it engages in “democratic reforms.” This is, alas, their real purpose and whatever charity they give to anyone serves simply as a front.
The political nature of USAID stems from the primary reason for its inception in 1961 which was to contain the spread of communism and soviet influence. The purpose of providing “aid” to countries was to ensure that they didn’t align with the Soviet Union or adopt systems that weren’t congruent with America’s conception of “democratic.” While the agency has funded some humanitarian causes, they’ve also funded electoral candidates, media companies, and civil institutions that align with American interests.
Some prominent examples of USAID’s geopolitical operations include its “democracy programs,” which infamously played a role in previous color revolutions, throughout Eastern Europe, that propped up pro-American governments. One of its most recent and notable foreign operations include its efforts to implement US-backed regime change in Ukraine which included funding protests, anti-government media, and election monitoring groups that challenged the legitimacy of the elections. USAID has also been criticized for its regime-changing operations in Latin America which included funding propaganda and opposition groups in Mexico, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and Bolivia.
The Trump administration largely criticizes the agency for being wasteful and fraudulent, and while the criticism is valid it misses the fundamental issue that is posed by agencies like USAID. This is exemplified by the remarks made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio who was assigned as acting director of USAID. Not only is it unwise to elect an interventionist like Rubio to lead an agency that is covertly dedicated to regime change, but Rubio himself has confirmed that the United States “will still be providing foreign aid” so long as it “makes sense” and is “aligned with our national interest.”
War hawks like Rubio exempting USAID programs that “serve national interest” likely means that the agency is being restructured into a right-wing regime changer and that the Trump administration is not fully committed to ending USAID. Instead, it seems that a lot of theatre is being put on display with the goal of reforming USAID to exist and operate within a new “MAGA” America that is being led by a new-age republican government.
Although many politicians and corporate media outlets like to call USAID a “humanitarian agency,” their criticism towards shuttering the agency stem solely from geopolitical concerns. The likes of Chuck Schumer have warned that abolishing USAID would be against national interests. It’s odd however, that ending an international charity funded by taxpayers would be against the national interests of American citizens. That is, however, unless the real purpose of USAID is to meddle in the affairs of foreign governments and not to help starving families halfway across the world.
The agency’s geopolitical purpose is further made clear by how many critics, like Senator Coons, have claimed that closing USAID would allow China to expand its global influence. None of the ardent supporters of USAID ultimately seem shy to admit that China is their modern version of the Soviet threat and that the “humanitarian agency” is their political tool to combat them.
USAID is corrupt, wasteful, and fraudulent but the agency’s true purpose is why it needs to be completely shut down instead of reformed to fit a new republican foreign policy. Unfortunately, the latter seems more likely to transpire as it begins to be restructured by the likes of Marco Rubio who have, alongside others in the Trump administration, expressed concerns over “Chinese influence,” echoing rhetoric reminiscent of The Cold War.
Aviel Oppenheim is a writer and novelist with two independently published books under his name, which include the Ethics of Vaccine Passports: A Poor Bargain and his debut fiction novel, Abiden. He is also a senior editor at Materia+ and a contributor at Dissident Media.
