What is USAID and Why Should You Care?

What is USAID? (And Why Should You Care?) The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was created in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy with a simple, idealistic premise: to distribute American foreign aid and promote economic growth, democracy, and humanitarian relief worldwide. Sounds great, right? Who doesn’t want to help starving kids and build schools? That’s the sales pitch. But the reality is something very different. USAID has functioned less like a charity and more like an arm of U.S. foreign policy, intelligence operations, and corporate interests. It’s a key player in the government’s global chess game—one that often puts American taxpayers on the hook for billions in spending with little to no accountability. By 2023, the U.S.…