Breaking USAID

Should the U.S. stop giving foreign aid?

This is a question many have been asking long before Elon Musk and Donald Trump launched DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) and began dismantling USAID and its work around the globe.

Critics of foreign aid, like Bill Easterly, author of The White Man’s Burden, and Dambisa Moyo, author of Dead Aid, argue that foreign aid often does more harm than good. They contend that the U.S. and other nations should radically rethink their approach.

But this winter, Donald Trump did something no one expected: he halted nearly all foreign aid and operations worldwide. 

Today, we’re joined by long-time international correspondent and host of NPR’s Rough Translation, Gregory Warner, for a deep dive into why USAID was founded in the first place, how it expanded into the massive program it is today, the consequences of freezing its operations, and an examination of the claims that USAID is part of a U.S. deep-state operation.

For the listener who’d like to hear more from Warner, he publishes a Substack newsletter called Rough Transition. And if you reach out to him mentioning you're coming from Reflector, he’s happy to offer a complimentary six-month subscription.