Written by Alyssa Sonnenburg
The Trump Administration recently announced a freeze in funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and ordered all its employees to pause their work. USAID’s website states,
“On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.”
Unsurprisingly, this action has sparked outrage amongst a variety of groups. Chuck Schumer, U.S. Senate Democrat minority leader from New York, stated,
“Before our very eyes, an unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government… Shutting down USAID puts American security in danger.”
Notably, many evangelical Christians have also raised a cry against this action.
Christianity Today published a recent article decrying the Administration’s action against USAID noting,
“Halted projects were addressing famine, lack of electricity in rural health facilities, and malaria outbreaks.”
The article went on to note all the work USAID’s budget has funded– citing groups and organizations that are bemoaning the loss of federal funds on behalf of their humanitarian projects.
Now, compassion is most definitely a high Christian virtue. Throughout church history, compassion has set Christians apart from the rest of the world.
It has always been Christians who assigned value and dignity to every human being regardless of nationality or background because of the foundational truth that mankind is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27
).
Yet, compassion without truth is dangerous.
Podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey calls this “toxic empathy”– when well-meaning compassion on a Christian’s part is twisted and manipulated to support progressive actions.
In the case of USAID, the truth will guide the Christian to see that the overhaul of USAID is in fact a morally good, upright action on the part of the Trump Administration.
First of all, let us not forget that USAID is not a charity funded by generous donors, but rather a government entity being funded by the hard-earned taxpayer dollars of the everyday American worker.
This is a vitally important distinction to understand before moving forward in the analysis of Trump’s overhaul.
USAID is not a private, donor-funded group. USAID is a taxpayer-funded organization that is part of the federal government.
Marco Rubio, the new Secretary of State and Head of the State Department, revealed some troubling news during a recent press conference in El Salvador.
“I said very clearly during my confirmation hearing that every dollar we spend and every program we fund… will be aligned with the national interests of the United States.
USAID has a history of sort of ignoring that and deciding that they are somehow a global charity, separate from the national interests.
These are taxpayer dollars. These are not donor dollars… and we owe the American people the assurances that every dollar we are spending abroad is being spent on something that furthers our national interests.”
It’s also important to note that the projects USAID has been funding should shock Christians everywhere.
As The Washington Stand reported,
“The White House produced a litany of USAID grants promoting transgenderism and critical theory around the world at U.S. taxpayer expense, often in traditionally Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox Christian nations.”
The list of taxpayer-funded operations includes:
- “$2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala
- $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia
- $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru
- Funding to print “personalized” contraceptive birth control devices in developing countries
- $1.5 million to “advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities”
- $70,000 for the production of a “DEI musical” in Ireland
- “Hundreds of thousands of meals that went to al Qaeda-affiliated fighters in Syria”
- $2.5 million for electric vehicles for Vietnam”
Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, commented on the reality of USAID funding:
“Most governments don’t want USAID funds flowing into their countries because they understand where much of that money actually ends up. While marketed as support for development, democracy, and human rights, the majority of these funds are funneled into opposition groups, NGOs with political agendas, and destabilizing movements.”
This revelation concerning the actions of USAID should make Christians everywhere thankful that the Trump Administration is calling for an overhaul and transparency when it comes to funding USAID.
Though USAID characterizes itself as wanting to end poverty, promote democracy, and encourage civility around the world, the programs it funds prove otherwise.
Instead, USAID is promoting abortion, transgenderism, DEI, promiscuity, and sexual degeneracy.
As a believer, I do not want my hard-earned taxpayer dollars to fund causes that my faith stands categorically against.
Not only is the overhaul and re-organization of USAID necessary, it is also a moral good.
