The Trump administration’s foreign aid overhaul has thrown the broader humanitarian community into chaos.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative spearheaded by tech billionaire and Trump adviser Elon Musk, has effectively dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), leading to massive layoffs and the closure of critical food and development programs. A federal judge ruled this week that DOGE’s actions “likely violated the U.S. Constitution in multiple ways,” but stopped short of reversing the cuts.
With money running low, WFP is making deep cuts to its programs. Food rations have been slashed for refugees in Bangladesh, Kenya and Djibouti. The agency has closed its South Africa office, laid off staff and frozen hiring at its headquarters in Rome. In Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, rations reductions sparked violent protests, with police firing live ammunition to disperse demonstrators.
Europe follows Trump’s lead
The Rome-based WFP is not the only U.N. agency facing a budget reckoning. Its counterpart, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has also been forced to suspend projects after losing about $300 million in annual funding from Washington.
As U.S. aid plummets, the European Union is under pressure to fill the gap. But instead of stepping up, some of its largest donor countries are following Washington’s lead and cutting back.
France, Sweden and Finland are slashing foreign aid budgets, while Germany is weighing whether to redirect funding toward migration control and trade priorities. In several countries, new right-wing coalitions have been shifting resources away from humanitarian programs and toward deportation policies, mirroring Trump’s approach. At the same time, the European Union is retooling development aid as a geopolitical lever — redirecting funds toward security, trade and Europe’s own strategic priorities.
