President Trump’s budget proposes eliminating a number of development and international affairs agencies beyond the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) — ending support for a number of programs that fight poverty, promote democracy and expand U.S. presence overseas.
The budget moves to formally eliminate the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the U.S. Institute for Peace, the National Endowment for Democracy, as well as two agencies focused on development work across Latin America and Africa.
The budget would also end all funding given to United Nations Peacekeeping Missions, some $1.6 billion, and Food for Peace, another $1.6 billion investment some GOP lawmakers have argued helps U.S. farmers.
The budget includes funds to consolidate USAID into the State Department after the administration announced the move last month, igniting layoffs of staff.
While the cuts are drawn from numerous places in the budget, many were broadly categorized as being part of state and international program funding — with spending in that category dropping from nearly $60 billion to $10 billion, or a roughly 84 percent cut.
“This represents a stark retreat from America’s longstanding commitment to easing suffering, saving lives, and helping communities build their own path to prosperity,” Tom Hart, president and CEO of InterAction, an alliance of international nonprofits and partners in the United States.
“U.S. leadership represents the best of American values around the world, and supports American security, economic, and health interests. If these proposals become reality, countless vulnerable women, children, and families will suffer and America’s standing and interests will be diminished.”
Many of the agencies were cut in what the administration deemed “eliminating the weaponized rot” from the government.
The budget cuts come after staffers from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) arrived at a number of the agencies’ headquarters — launching suits from agencies that have been fighting for their existence.
At the U.S. Institute for Peace (USIP), staffers described a hostile takeover, one in which they fired security staff that were coordinating with DOGE and tried to actively block them from accessing their building – only to have local police allow DOGE in.
Its suit says the agency experienced “literal trespass and takeover by force” by DOGE personnel, which evidently removed the USIP logo from the wall, leaving its letters on the ground.
While USIP’s mission was dedicated to promoting peacebuilding and conflict resolution, White House documents submitted alongside the budget call it an “opaque left-wing think tank.”
Funding was also eliminated for the U.S. African Development Foundation and the Inter-American Foundation — two other agencies that have filed suit to block their closure. Both agencies had a budget of roughly $50 million.
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED), whose primary mission is to promote democracy and political freedom abroad, lost all $315 million in funding. The administration accused the agency of peddling disinformation through its efforts to combat it — saying they “blacklisted” conservative media outlets. Elon Musk had previously said the agency was a “scam.”
In its own suit, NED noted it funded more than 1,300 programs worldwide to “organizations working to promote democratic governance, human rights, and political freedoms worldwide in some of the most challenging environments — including authoritarian regimes” and where fundamental freedoms are being repressed.
The U.S. Agency for Global Media, which funds outlets like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, has also seen the launch of a series of suits seeking to protect the agency’s dismantling.
The budget also defunds the Woodrow Wilson Center, a think tank dedicated to global issues that describes itself as “fiercely nonpartisan.”
The agencies were all cut in a budget item projecting $3.5 billion in savings.
“The Budget includes the elimination of, or the elimination of Federal funding for, the following small agencies — consistent with the President’s efforts to decrease the size of the Federal Government to enhance accountability, reduce waste, and reduce unnecessary governmental entities. Past Trump Administration Budgets have also supported these eliminations. Remaining funds account for costs of orderly shutdowns.
The budget also cuts $555 million given to multilateral development banks that aim to strengthen economies in Africa, Asia, Latin America and elsewhere.
GOP lawmakers have tried to save some programs.
Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) proposed moving the Food for Peace Program out of USAID into The U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“As part of an ongoing effort to save money and increase efficiency, Food for Peace should be moved to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. By moving this program closer to the producers who grow these crops, we can help reduce waste and make certain our farmers have access to this valuable market. Food stability is essential to political stability, and our food aid programs help feed the hungry, bolster our national security and provide important markets for our farmers,” Moran said in a statement when the bill was introduced in February.
