Following Trump’s inauguration on 20 January, the President and his Republican administration have begun an immense transformation of America’s domestic and foreign policy. Trump continues to consolidate his power, emboldened by the legitimacy of a political mandate from his electoral landslide. Meanwhile, Democratic opposition is consumed by infighting, finger-pointing, and insignificant symbolic acts, rather than presenting an effective unified front. The Democrats appear to be on a separate political mission, seeking out any electoral scapegoat to blame for their loss of traditionally loyal votes – leaping from condemning social “radical” progressives, to berating the Muslim community over its support for Gaza, or tarring African-American and Latino communities with allegations of misogyny. Thus, effective political opposition to Trump, his administration, and the ideology of “Project 2025” has fallen away. Within this paralysis, the first casualty has emerged; the systematic dismantlement, and scattering to the wind, of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The “Sleeping Giant”
The United States (US) has been bestowed and taken many monikers throughout history. The one we shall examine within this piece is its legacy as the “Sleeping Giant.” This phrase was coined by (although contested to) the Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, in the aftermath of Pearl Harbour and America’s declaration of war on Japan. It personifies the industrial and economic might of America which had slept quietly after World War One, in its own continent away from the re-emerging troubles of the world.
Awakened by war, America’s entrance into the Second World War would propel its historic and meteoric rise as a global economic and military power, and strong proponent of international institutions and governance. Nearly half a century later, with the end of the Cold War, this supremacy expanded to becoming the world’s sole political power, ushering an era colloquially called “Pax Americana” – a period of unrivalled US global hegemony.
To what extent, however, is the era of Trump’s presidency and the ideological vision of “Project 2025” an attempt to lull the giant into slumber once again? Is this a return to isolationism – one that sees America turn its back on its international institutions, foreign conflicts, and the interventionist role it assumed – solidified in its own imagination through monikers like the “global policeman,” and the “leader of the free world”?
What is USAID, and why are/were they important?
USAID was created by President John. F. Kennedy in 1961. With its institutional independence from the State Department in 1998, the agency would emerge in contemporary times as an aid and development behemoth. In 2023, global development and aid rose to an annual spend of USD$223.3 billion, with the largest national donor being the USA with USD$72 billion, followed by Germany, Japan, Britain, and France.
USAID and the development and aid industry focus on the sectors of global health, disaster relief, governance, gender equality and social inclusion, education, infrastructure, military, security, and defence. The Ukrainian invasion is also a major cause of higher spending. In February 2022, Congress appropriated USD$46 billion of emergency funds partially to USAID, and other departments for support to Ukraine. Since the beginning of the Israel-Gaza c onflict the USA has also given an estimated USD$17.9 billion in military aid, once again a possible cause for the increase in development and aid budget. Importantly, however, this showcases the extent of American capital exhausted in foreign interventions, and their thematic areas.
Dismantling USAID – A Timeline:
On 24 January 2025, the US State Department called for a 90-day freeze on USAID funds, sending the development sector with NGOs and contractors into a tailspin. All USAID programmes stopped. At the beginning of February, the USAID website went dark and archived. The headquarters in Washington DC closed, and 100 federal employees were placed on leave, with many being logged out of their emails. Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team subsequently attempted to access and download classified USAID files. When two high-ranking personnel of the USAID Security team attempted to stop Musk, they were also placed on indefinite leave, and the files were downloaded regardless. On 7 February, the USAID headquarters in Washington DC. were stripped of its name, and its logo covered (as seen in the article picture). It has also been reported that the building will be handed over to Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). This is hugely symbolic of the administration itself, as it clears out the agency for development and aid, in favour of the department of customs and border patrol.
From its inception, USAID employed approximately 10,000 federal staff. On Friday 22 February, courts lifted a temporary restraining order which barred further staff furlough. Monday 24 February saw the White House move to lay off or place on leave the rest of the agency. Over half of the agency (some 4,200 employees) have been placed on leave, with a further 1,600 being fired. It is not clear how many will be retained – only 611 staff members have been deemed “essential.” Usaidstopwork.com has tracked unemployment figures, calculating 55,000 confirmed domestic job losses, and over 100,000 jobs lost globally. Now, the agency is location-less and with a significantly reduced staff. It has become easier to relegate and downsize the future potential, or finish-off the department completely.
Beyond the huge loss of employment within the entire sector, we must consider those who receive the life-changing aid and development services that USAID provides. As of 28 January, the US State Department has issued a waiver for programmes and spending on life-saving medication, food, shelter, and basic subsistence assistance. This is similar to Trump’s first term in office, in which he reduced aid and development to basic service provision in the face of COVID-19. This process is not automatic however; approval must be sought, but this exists now within a highly politicised agenda. What falls under the categories that can be issued waivers are for the Trump administration to politically determine, taking the incredibly important decision out of USAID’s expert hands. It has been reported by USAID officials that following the furlough of thousands of USAID employees, only two DOGE employees were responsible for granting USAID payments. This has now reportedly risen to 50 employees, however for many civil society organisations implementing these programmes on the ground, including HIV/AIDs work, these delays in payments hampers, and at worst stops, their life-saving work.
Some examples of programmes which have been halted and are not eligible for waivers include: hospitals in refugee camps and landmine removals in Cambodia; all aid to Ukraine including military/defence and media programmes; education programmes in Mali; healthcare programmes in Afghanistan; and programmes monitoring deforestation and cocaine production in South America. Military aid and development, however, continues only to Israel and Egypt, as well as Lebanon from 5 March. This void of almost USD$72 billion annually for the global poorest states, including Somalia, Sudan, Mali, Yemen, and Afghanistan, will likely be filled by the other largest donors. However, on 25 February, Britain also announced that its own development budget would be reduced from 0.5% of its GDP to 0.3%, amounting to a cut of GBP£9.2 billion. These states and blocs do not wield the same economic power as the US, however. Therefore, for those recipients who fall through the cracks, the rapid dismantlement of USAID and its programmes will result in catastrophic, if not life-threatening, regressions in their social and economic wellbeing.
So, Shall the American Giant Sleep?
No. America is not retreating into a historical isolation, although its rhetorical tools of managing its imperial overreach may trick you into believing so. It has retreated from its “belief” in internationalism, no doubt. This is an America with its full imperial ambitions on clear display. An America who has grown tired of its façade of soft power, dropping all guises of its foreign grand moralising mission to save humanity with humanitarianism and development. Relinquishing control over its global neoliberal-driven development approach, to simply supplying “aid and development” through military arms and weapon sales.
Trump’s second era over “Pax Americana” follows the ideology of “might makes right”, dropping simultaneously its other monikers of “leader of the free world,” or its role as the “global policeman.” America will continue its interventionism on the global stage, replaced now by Trump and Musk’s political and economic ambitions. This entails stoking the flames of right-wing discourses, promoting “strongman” politics, and attempting to create political puppets and satellite states. These moves can already be seen through their tampering, selection and promotions of fringe far-right actors and parties. This is an America who will not sleep any time soon, but if the world does not prepare itself accordingly, it is an America who does risk dragging the world into its nightmare.