There is much rejoicing in Trump-world over the actions of DOGE, the special bureau headed by Elon Musk, which is reportedly getting rid of the American “Deep State.” There are mass layoffs and entire agencies are on the verge of being shut down. One such agency is USAID.
Granted that the sins of USAID are many, especially its various regime-change undertakings—but is this the reason for Trump’s decision to dismantle and rebuild it? It is worth noting that USAID is not being deleted for its various sins, but it is being revamped to better serve US hegemony. Trump’s reason for moving against USAID is that it was doing things that were against US policy. Its revamped version will not have this discrepancy.
Therefore, this article posits a simple explanation—the gravest sin that USAID committed was being anti-Netanyahu and pro-Palestinian more often than not. Trumpism and Zionism are one and the same. Being anti-Zionist means being anti-Trumpism. Therefore, any US support of Palestine is anathema, while Trump is in office. The elements that were pro-Palestinian in USAID are seen as “criminal,” therefore.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long hated USAID, accusing it of funding opposition groups inside Israel which he says undermines Israel’s security interests—and his rule. He particularly singled out humanitarian aid being given to Gaza, which he claimed was being given to terrorists, which for him undermined Israel’s objectives in Gaza. Most members of his coalition government, also view all humanitarian aid for Gaza as support for Israel’s enemies. For example, this was the reason given by Israel for its hindrance of humanitarian aid to Gaza. And USAID officials at that time expressed concerns that Israel did not comply with requirements to allow the transport and delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid.
More specifically, Netanyahu accused USAID of significantly funding protests in Israel, against his government. During a Knesset debate, he described the financial support as “almost inconceivable” and suggested that it undermines the notion that these protests are a grassroots movement. Specifically, he pointed to reports indicating that USAID has provided funding to organizations like Blue and White Future.
Blue and White Future is an Israeli NGO that plays a significant role in anti-Netanyahu protests, mainly by providing financial and organizational support. In effect, Blue and White Future acts as a central hub for coordinating activities among different factions within the anti-Netanyahu protest movement.
Netanyahu’s long-standing anti-USAID sentiments reflect broader political dynamics in U.S.-Israel relations, particularly during Republican administrations that have historically sought to reduce foreign aid expenditures and increase control over such programs. This aligns with Netanyahu’s own strategy to portray himself as a defender of Israeli interests against what he perceives as external pressures.
In the past, Netanyahu has done much to restrict the activities of USAID in Israel. For example, his government imposed bureaucratic delays on the delivery of aid, effectively blocking humanitarian assistance from reaching Gaza. This included holding up shipments of food and medical supplies, so that lifesaving food was stockpiled in Israeli ports while transfers were prohibited.
Netanyahu’s administration passed laws that severely restrict the operations of international agencies, especially those providing aid in Gaza. Thus, the entire work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is responsible for distributing aid to Palestinian refugees, was shut down on January 30, 2025.
USAID also ran several crucial programs in Gaza, aimed at addressing humanitarian needs and supporting development. It provided food aid to vulnerable families in Gaza, because of severe food insecurity, which is part of the Israeli genocide plan.
The agency also supported health initiatives through partners like the International Medical Corps, which operated field hospitals in Gaza. These facilities were essential for treating civilians, injured by the Israeli army. There were also programs that offered mental health support and psychosocial services to individuals traumatized by loss of family members in the genocide. There was funding for access to clean drinking water and sanitation, both of which have been destroyed by the Israelis. There were programs aimed at combating infectious diseases, especially crucial given the deteriorating health conditions in Gaza. Along with Mercy Corps and ANERA, USAID provided multipurpose cash assistance to help households meet basic needs, including food and shelter.
Interestingly, in Gaza, USAID was also engaged in community infrastructure projects that sought to improve living conditions, especially healthcare facilities and essential services. Now that Trump wants to “own” Gaza, such projects would be deemed redundant, in his view, since he believes he can do a better.
Perhaps it is this work that prompted Elon Musk, the tech mogul who has been tasked with eliminating wasteful spending by the US government, to call USAID “a criminal organization.” One wonders, “criminal” for whom, since it is hardly the case that the US has suddenly got religion and abandoned hegemony.
Certainly, USAID was one part of America’s vast web of hegemony, and it is true that it actively promoted regime change in various parts of the world, as required by the US. In this, it hardly worked independently.
But it was in its various rogue program of siding with Palestine and working against Netanyahu—and perceived as “anti-Israel.” Zionists long called USAID an “agent for anti-Israel diplomacy.”
That was its greatest sin which could not be forgiven. This is what made it a “criminal organization,” for which it has now been shut down and will be revamped as a better instrument for American hegemony and Zionist ambitions. This was probably one of the “products” that the Zionist funders of Trump “bought.” There are many other “products” that they “bought,” which Trump will have to deliver. To use an expression from Trump’s world: “the customer is always right.”
This direction was hinted at by the Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, when she held up a list of wasteful spending by USAID, such as a transgender opera in Columbia. What Leavitt neglected to mention is that DEI and gender issues (and nurturing religious extremism) have long been core mechanisms for spreading US hegemony throughout the world, because they are so effectively disruptive of traditional societies (which comprise the majority of the world). So, USAID was simply doing what has long been US policy.
But it would seem that the Trump administration will now use other means to affirm US hegemony—naked power. This is the Trumpian principle of “peace through strength,” where the world had better be peaceful if does not want to taste American “strength.” In other words, America will no longer use soft power for anything when it has hard power.
This has been the policy of Israel for a very long time—it has cultivated fear. Trump has latched on to this and made it his own.
Thus, the dismantling and eventual revamping of USAID is the “Israelization” of the United States—which is the end goal of Zionism, wherein Israel and the USA are one and the same.
