The American Agency for International Development Agency (USAID) suddenly was overline on Saturday, which raised new concerns about President Donald Trump’s freeze on foreign aid and development funding. The power failure comes while thousands of USAID employees face content and layoffs in the midst of a broader repression of US world aid.
The Trump administration imposed a 90 -day freeze on billions of dollars in humanitarian, development and security, triggering a stormy political confrontation with the Democrats of the Congress. Critics fear that Trump is trying to dismantle the USAID as an independent entity, withdrawing it in the State Department – a decision, according to them, goes beyond the presidential authority.
Political battle on the future of the USAID
Congress Democrats have warned that the elimination of USAID would represent a fundamental change in the United States foreign policy, undermining national security. Senator Chris Murphy went to social networks, accusing Trump of having provoked a “constitutional crisis”.
“This is a despot – who wants to steal taxpayers money to enrich his billionaire cabale – said Murphy on X (formerly Twitter).
Meanwhile, Trump and his allies argue that a large part of the USAID funding is badly allocated to unnecessary projects or liberal social agendas. The billionaire Elon Musk, informal advisor of Trump, approved the calls to dismantle the agency, publish on X: “Live by decree, die by decree.”
The world impact
USAID, created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, has long been in the heart of the American soft power, thwarting Soviet influence and, more recently, Chinese. The ambitious Belt and Road Initiative of China is now relying on the domination of world aid in the United States, adding urgency to the debate on the future of the USAID.
The closure of foreign assistance programs has left international aid organizations to rush, and much forced to stop operations due to the uncertainty of funding. While the Secretary of State Marco Rubio worked to support vital emergency programs, the selective application of the freeze administration has led to general confusion.
Rubio said Thursday that the administration was examining USAID programs to eliminate those “not in the American national interest”. However, he did not mention completely dissolving the agency.
Legal and institutional benefits
The Trump administration has a history of tent to reduce the USAID budget. During his first mandate, Trump sought to reduce the financing of a third party aid, a decision blocked by the congress. Its administration then used bureaucratic maneuvers, including financing gels, to bypass the legislative authority – a tactic deemed later illegal by the government’s responsibility office under the law on furniture control.
The uncertainty surrounding the fate of USAID has led to internal anxiety. The agency employees would have spent the weekend watching if its panels and flags stayed in place at the Washington headquarters, DC on Saturday evening, they had not been removed.
The current Trump administration period, the future of American foreign aid remains in limbo. The implications of a reduced or dismantled USAID would be deep, which has an impact on world humanitarian efforts and the diplomatic scope of America.
