No, USAID Is NOT the Christian Charity Arm of the U.S. Government

Recently, a misleading claim has been making the rounds among well-meaning Christians: President Trump shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), ending critical Christian charity work around the world. This claim is categorically false.

First, Trump did not shut down USAID but rather paused all spending while the Administration could review wasteful expenses. Second, USAID was never the U.S. government’s version of a Christian charity, nor has its mission been aligned with traditional Christian values in recent years. While it may have started with noble intentions, USAID has increasingly become a slush fund for leftist causes, funneling American taxpayer dollars to organizations that promote abortion, radical gender ideology, and other far-Left initiatives under the guise of humanitarian aid.

Trump’s pause is a necessary tool to rein in this anti-American practice. Certainly, some good charities have received USAID funds, but those entities can be supported without also supporting dangerous leftist entities.

Instead of providing legitimate humanitarian aid, USAID became a cash cow for the radical Left – spending billions bankrolling leftist NGOs worldwide. Some glaring examples include:

• Funding abortion overseas: During the Biden Administration, MSI Reproductive Choices, an international group dedicated to spreading abortions to the world under the guise of “family planning,” received over $3 million through multiple grants.
• Advancing DEI across the world: The Biden Administration routinely granted millions to support woke DEI initiatives in other countries, for instance, sending $1.5 million to a woke group in Serbia.
• Policing “disinformation” in Kazakhstan: Approximately $15 million was sent to Central Asia for the stated purpose of developing a “more balanced information environment” and to “increase openness . . . for different ideas.”
• Music festivals celebrating DEI: Handed over more than $70,000 for the U.S. Embassy in Ireland to host a “live music event” promoting “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.”
• Alleviating Loneliness in India: $750,000 was given to the little brother of billionaire Anand Ahuja to help garment workers in India cope with “loneliness and social isolation.”

The fraud, waste, and abuse perpetrated by USAID has far outweighed any positive benefits. In fact, USAID took more than four years to provide any aid to Christians facing genocide at the hands of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. It was too little too late, as Christians suffered and died. Even then, USAID was only providing aid through the U.N., which is notorious for excluding Christians. Not until President Trump forced USAID to specifically provide aid to Christians was any meaningful work done. All the while, President Trump had to battle USAID bureaucrats who tried to undermine the President.

USAID has failed its mission at every turn. The U.S. State Department, under the leadership of the Senate-confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is in a far better position to see that aid dollars are adequately distributed. The State Department has already offered select waivers for organizations to continue “lifesaving” humanitarian work.

The ACLJ certainly stands with Christian charities that perform true international humanitarian work, and we join in their call to preserve funding for appropriate charities that are actually advancing American and humanitarian interests. We hope that charities like Samaritan’s Purse or World Relief can continue their work soon and that there is clarity in the process. However, Trump was right to pause a program that, overall, has burned American tax dollars on the Deep State’s wishlist of Left-wing causes.

The ACLJ remains committed to ensuring that your tax dollars do not fund abortion, radical activism, or political agendas disguised as humanitarian aid. That’s why we filed amicus briefs across the country last week, defending President Trump’s authority to implement his agenda.