Trump Presses to Shut USAID, Bipartisan Tibet Aid Faces Serious Risk

By Tenzin Chokyi

DHARAMSALA 4 Feb: Tech Billionaire Elon Musk, the administrator of the newly created US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced on Monday that President Donald Trump had agreed on the need to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) after the President’s executive order to ban all foreign aid globally led to nearly 400 USAID contract workers to be laid off. 

The development has further amplified the uncertainty faced by the exiled Tibetan community following the announcement of temporary suspension of all US foreign assistance programs for 90 days last week, which has halted many of the programs funded by the US under the Central Tibetan Administration(CTA) and various NGOs working for Tibet.

Musk’s announcement has meant a greater possibility for the complete blockage of US aid against the hopes of the Tibetan community for the continuation of the aid after 90 days’ review.

Therefore, the immediate risk at stake for the Tibetan community is the $23 million grant approved by the US Congress as part of the new five-year program titled “Strengthening Economic, Social, and Cultural Resilience of Tibetan Communities in South Asia in Dec 2024.

The Program places the CTA at the forefront of development efforts and supports its leadership in delivering locally driven solutions for its communities.

The said fund caters to various programs in the Tibetan community including welfare initiatives, educational scholarships, funding for the CTA’s functionality and news agencies such as Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.

Following Trump’s executive order to freeze all foreign aid—over $60 billion globally—last week, around 60 senior USAID staff members were put on leave on the accusation of circumventing Trump’s order. On Saturday, the official website of USAID reportedly went blank and remains inaccessible. Additionally, two top security officials at the USAID were reportedly fired for attempting to block the Elon Musk-run DOGE access to classified material in restricted areas. 

A day before Musk posted about the closure of the USAID on his social media platform X, Trump told reporters when asked to comment on the agency that “It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out, and then we’ll make a decision on its future”. 

The humanitarian agency, which has operated as an independent body since its establishment in 1961, is now effectively under the control of the State Department. Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, has been appointed as the acting administrator of USAID.

The tech billionaire’s involvement in directing US foreign aid with President Trump has sparked great discontent in the United States. US Senator Chris Murphy, a member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has condemned the move to shut down the USAID agency, claiming it represents a constitutional crisis.

He argued the move which was reportedly influenced by Musk reflects an attempt by Musk and the billionaire elite to take control of US foreign policy for self interest. Murphy made these statements during a press conference held in front of the shuttered USAID headquarters in Washington DC on Monday. Today marks the second day the Trump Administration locked the USAID workers out of their headquarters in Washington, DC. 

Murphy, who is a Democratic Congress member, said that he, along with his colleague, will use every power in the United States Senate to stop Money control over the government. He called these developments a “shell game” in order to turn the government over to a handful of “unelected billionaires” and “corporate interests”. 

Additionally, US Judge Alikhan on Monday extended an order she issued last week that paused parts of Trump’s sweeping freeze on federal grants following a lawsuit from non-profit groups that receive federal funds. 

​​USAID has been a crucial instrument of America’s soft power, helping to shape its foreign policy worldwide in order to sustain dominance and counter major powers like the Soviet Union during its early years, and China in the present day. Today, the US stands as a leading superpower, supporting the Tibetan community in exile and their movement for freedom against colonial China.