In an era defined by great power competition and global instability, the United States cannot afford to retreat from its leadership role on the world stage. Yet that’s exactly what’s happening.
The Trump administration, under the guise of cutting so-called “waste fraud and abuse,” has taken a chainsaw to America’s most vital foreign assistance programs. The Peace Corps is on track for record cuts, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was officially shut down on July 1, marking the end of its six decades of operation.
In just his first six weeks as president, Trump froze 83% of USAID’s funding, abruptly cutting off thousands of personnel, including foreign service officers, contractors, and public health professionals in more than 100 countries around the world.
These actions put American lives and interests at risk.
Foreign assistance is not charity. It is a strategic investment in U.S. national security, economic interests, and global stability. USAID strengthens America’s global influence by promoting economic growth, transparent governance, and democratic institutions. These investments help stabilize fragile states before they spiral into conflict, reducing the risk of them becoming breeding grounds for terrorism.
And the real-world ramifications of these cuts will cause unnecessary suffering and death. A new study warns that ongoing reductions to U.S. foreign aid under Trump could result in up to 14 million preventable deaths by 2030. Over the past twenty years, USAID initiatives are believed to have helped save more than 90 million lives. The study cautions that if the current funding cuts persist, millions of lives that might otherwise be spared could be at risk.
Trump and Congressional Republicans have seemingly forgotten that soft power is just as important as hard power.
In Syria, for instance, USAID has provided life-saving humanitarian aid to more than 16 million people. Its support for education, job creation, and governance reform has helped address the root causes of extremism, making it harder for terrorist organizations like ISIS to recruit. Similarly, in Haiti, USAID helps mitigate crises before they trigger mass migration or demand costly military interventions.
As a former Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia, I’ve seen firsthand how U.S. assistance changes lives and how it safeguards our own. I worked with villagers to access clean water, build clinics, and teach basic sanitation, helping to eradicate smallpox. Today, USAID carries on that legacy by strengthening health systems and preventing pandemics from spreading across borders. This work was essential in containing the bird flu and Ebola outbreaks. Slashing foreign health funding in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is shortsighted and dangerous.
We once had an army to stop disease. Now, thanks to Trump, we are more vulnerable to another global health pandemic.
Ending USAID also compromises our ability to compete with rivals like Russia and China. Since late 2022, Russia has targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with relentless missile and drone strikes. USAID has committed over $800 million to help rebuild Ukraine’s energy grid, delivering transformers, power cables, gas generators, and more. Trump’s aid freeze has jeopardized this support, undercutting a key pillar of the West’s resistance to Putin’s advances.
In China, the recent cuts to U.S. foreign aid are seen as a ‘gift.’ In late February, the U.S. canceled two key aid projects in Cambodia: one aimed at boosting child literacy, and the other focused on improving nutrition and development for children under five. A week later, China’s aid agency stepped in for nearly identical initiatives. This pattern is repeating across the globe: as the U.S. withdraws, China moves in.
These cuts are not only strategically foolish, but they are also cruel. They disregard the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people: families caught in war zones, children suffering from hunger, and communities shattered by disease and disaster. Slashing foreign aid comes at the cost of real human suffering and long-term global stability.
I’ll never forget holding a starving child in Ethiopia, praying that I hadn’t just handed out the last food ration. It’s unconscionable to abandon people like that—and to do so under a false banner of “America First” is nothing short of a moral failure.
According to internal documents, senior USAID officials warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio of the devastating impact that would be caused by the USAID cuts: 1 million children untreated for malnutrition, over 200,000 more children paralyzed from polio, and up to 160,000 deaths from malaria over the next decade. He went through with the cuts anyway.
You cannot claim good governance when you are responsible for tearing apart families and pillaging the very systems that keep us safe.
The truth is clear: pulling the plug on USAID and other foreign assistance programs endangers Americans at home and abroad. It cedes ground to our adversaries. It invites conflict. And it betrays the very values we claim to uphold as a nation.
If America wants to lead, we must lead by example. Retreating into isolationism doesn’t make America stronger. It makes us more vulnerable, less respected, and dangerously unprepared for the challenges ahead.
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Gutting U.S. Foreign Assistance Makes America Less Safe – International Policy Digest
