USAID is American to the Core—So Why Are We Gutting It?

America will regret President Trump's ill-conceived dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

When the President announced the “termination” of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), I struggled to understand why. Effectively ending USAID did not make sense. My understanding of its history and operation was that it was an essential part of American world leadership and had saved hundreds of thousands of lives across the globe by distributing food aid, medicines, technical assistance, and encouraging democracy and human rights.

President Trump’s Executive Action on USAID has been in effect for more than a month. Immediately after it was issued, I intended to write a piece on the agency and the ramifications of shutting it down and firing its employees. However, given the cascade of other Trump/Musk actions that followed January 20, 2025, I never got around to it.

Last week, I learned that one of my neighbors on the Eastern Shore of Maryland had written a Letter to the Editor that had been published in the Spy Newspapers. Sangeet Chowfla, the former president and CEO of the Graduate Management Admissions Council, authored the letter. Chowfla currently teaches at the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University.

The letter was better than anything I could write, so I sought permission to reprint it here in the hope that more people would read it.

Dear Editor,

There’s a strange sickness in this country—where we dismantle what works, just because some rich loudmouth decides it’s “wasteful.” And now, USAID—the agency that has helped millions of people around the world while keeping American farmers, contractors, and businesses employed—is on the chopping block.

You’d think small-town Marylanders wouldn’t care. But let me tell you—USAID buys American. It buys our corn, our wheat, our equipment. It opens markets that our farmers depend on. Without it, those opportunities disappear, and guess who takes our place? China.

USAID partners with the University of Maryland’s eastern shore and college park campuses to deliver its life saving care. It also works with Johns Hopkins, 16 Maryland farmers and another 11 nonprofits in our state. All in all, nearly $1 Billion was spent in Maryland by USAID. These businesses and workers are all affected.

Do not be fooled that USAID only spends money abroad. Its total budget is less than 1% of the federal budget and only 0.13% of US GDP. It literally saves lives around the world, projects US soft power and SPENDS MOST OF ITS MONEY AT HOME.

Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, you know better. Don’t let Elon Musk’s Twitter tantrums dictate U.S. foreign policy. Stand up. Defend USAID. Because a strong, self-reliant America doesn’t shrink from the world—it leads it.

Sincerely,

Sangeet Chowfla

Oxford MD