*His first day in office Donald Trump put a 90-day freeze on foreign aid disbursement through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Trump made the move after Elon Musk called USAID ‘a criminal organization.’ Trump put Musk in charge of DOGE – the Department of Government Efficiency, and USAID apparently is the first federal agency on the chopping block, according to what Trump has planned.
Most Americans agree too much of their tax dollars are spent on foreign aid and not enough on domestic issues. The United States spent just 1% of its annual budget on foreign aid in 2023, that amounted to $44 billion. The top recipient was Ukraine that got $16billion. I understand why that country needs financial assistance, still it’s like when a family member or friend falls on hard times and they need a place to stay. The first question you probably ask? How long will you need to be here? Americans shouldn’t hand out billions of dollars every year to people in need without asking for how long.
Even though I agree the United States needs to stop giving so much of our tax dollars to foreign countries, I have to question the motives behind the move.
If Trump and Musk are so focused on cutting government waste, why start with the agency that takes up the smallest amount of the U.S. budget? Since they’re using ‘scorched earth’ methods: freezing budgets and laying people off without notice; why not start with an agency that makes up a bigger slice of the budget? Or could there be another reason USAID was chosen to be cut first? Click the video above to hear my take on it.
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Steffanie Rivers is a freelance journalist living in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex. Email her at [email protected] with your comments, questions and speaking inquiries. Follow her @tcbstef on Instagram and Threads and on Facebook.
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