What happens if USAID is abolished?

(NewsNation) — As the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency goes through federal spending, one agency that appears to be on the chopping block is USAID.

President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who heads DOGE, have called the agency corrupt and claimed to have found wasteful and fraudulent payments.

Little credible evidence of corruption or fraud has been provided by DOGE, but the USAID employees stationed abroad have been recalled, and those in the U.S. have been blocked from accessing their offices.

Critics of USAID have suggested the money allocated to the agency by Congress would be better spent in America and have claimed that funds have found their way to extremist groups.

Here’s what will change if USAID is eliminated.

Diminished humanitarian assistance

USAID delivers billions of dollars in humanitarian aid to countries around the globe. If the agency is abolished, some programs could be shifted to the State Department, but others could be closed down, and some have already seen disruptions in funding.

Programs that fund HIV prevention are potentially on the chopping block, which experts have said could lead to a 400% increase in AIDS deaths around the globe.

Global conservation efforts meant to help slow climate change and programs that aid refugees in areas devastated by conflict could also be on the chopping block.

Thousands of jobs lost

The Trump administration has pledged to slim the agency down to a few hundred jobs, putting thousands of federal employees out of work, but they are not the only ones who would be affected.

Foreign aid contractors employ tens of thousands of people to provide assistance, many of them American. If programs are cut, those companies will go out of business.

Some companies involved in aid distribution have already cut independent contractors and furloughed staff because of uncertainty around already approved payments and future contracts.

Even if funding is restored, some have warned that it may be too late for some of those companies to survive, making aid distribution more difficult.

Farmers stuck in limbo

One thing USAID delivers around the world is food, food that is grown by American farmers who are incentivized by the government to produce crops like corn, lentils, sorghum, pinto beans and wheat that are shipped overseas. Some of those crops, like sorghum, have very little demand in the U.S.

Much of that food is now sitting in grain silos and warehouses as programs stalled. While some food distribution has begun resuming due to waivers, there are questions about whether there are enough workers to actually get the food where it needs to go. Currently, close to $500 billion of food is at risk of spoilage.

The uncertainty is also hitting farmers who are already preparing for the upcoming growing season. Some have been left with tens of thousands of dollars worth of seed for commodities they may not be able to sell if the U.S. stops buying them for foreign assistance.

Diminished U.S. power abroad

Critics of foreign aid view the spending as wasteful and would rather have money spent in America.

However, foreign aid contributes to America’s soft power abroad. Providing assistance to people facing extremist groups like ISIS in Syria, creating programming that helps introduce children in foreign countries to democratic and American ideals and providing food and medical care help win over hearts and minds.

If the U.S. pulls out of the international aid sphere, that leaves a gap that can be filled by terrorist groups like ISIS, who could exploit frustration at the loss of U.S. assistance and turn people against America.

It also leaves gaps for China to step in and provide international aid, packaged in the values of communist China instead of Western democratic ideals. Other adversaries like Russia could also step in, tipping the balance of global power away from the U.S.