David Hunt:

On June 4, 2025, the Trump Administration asked the U.S. Congress to claw back $9.4 billion dollars in spending that lawmakers had previously approved in the federal budget. Trump said that was the amount of waste, fraud and abuse uncovered by his biggest campaign donor, Elon Musk, through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

It’s a far cry from the $2 trillion dollars of wasteful spending Musk promised to find. 

To keep the president happy, Musk has taken aim at some of Trump’s favorite targets: PBS, NPR and almost every dollar of foreign aid.

I’m David Hunt. The government’s efforts to dismantle USAID, the U.S. Agency for International Development, have been extensively documented in the media. The administration’s termination of 5,341 foreign aid projects has disrupted global health programs, and reduced access to education and health care for millions. Thousands have likely died as a direct result of the sudden cutoff of funding, according to Boston University.

Less well documented has been the impact of the funding cuts on programs advancing the health, safety and empowerment of LGBTQ people around the world. To explore that part of the story, I sat down with Ari Shaw, senior fellow and director of international programs at the Williams Institute.

Ari Shaw:

The Williams Institute is a think tank based at the UCLA School of Law focused on LGBT Law and Policy. And our goal is to really ensure that evidence and data are brought to bear on policy making and judicial decision making that impacts LGBTQ people for so long. Myths and stereotypes have, have been relied on and, and unfortunately to this day, still in, in many cases to generate bad policy and bad laws that impact LGBTQ people.

David Hunt:

In a brief published in January, shortly after Trump signed an executive order pausing all foreign aid, Shaw suggested the order was just the first step “toward the Trump administration’s broader goal of eliminating LGBTQ issues from U.S. foreign policy and development assistance.” He was right. A 90-day pause in aid led to the cancellation of thousands of programs, including more than one hundred serving LGBTQ people around the world.

Among the cuts:

$5 million to combat gender-based violence and anti-LGBTQ violence in Honduras.

$1.3 million to promote social, economic, and political inclusion for LGBTQ people in North Macedonia.

$4 million for a gay men’s health initiative in South Africa.

$10.5 million for International Disaster Assistance for organizations led by women, disabled and LGBTQ people in two dozen countries.

Those cuts pale compared to the amount of funding pulled from HIV/AIDS programs. The Trump administration canceled $262 million for the JOINT UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS and $238 million for the INTERNATIONAL AIDS VACCINE INITIATIVE.

And it effectively ended President George W. Bush’s signature foreign aid initiative: PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — first signed into law in 2003.

The countries impacted include some of the poorest in the world: 18 African nations, including Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan. India, Indonesia and Nepal in Asia. Guatemala and Nicaragua in Central America and the Caribbean nations of Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.

The impact is — in the words of the New York Times — heartbreaking.

Reporting from Kampala, Uganda, in March, New York Times reporter Abdi Latif Dahir said, “The rapid loss of aid from the United States has left many gay Ugandans terrified.” He reported, “The conditions for L.G.B.T.Q. Ugandans are so perilous that shelters often move locations frequently or relocate individuals in order to avoid personal attacks or raids from the authorities. Now, some of those shelters are beginning to close.”

The situation is much the same for LGBTQ people in other countries, in other parts of the world, according to Ari Shaw.

Ari Shaw:

There's certainly been a lot of progress over the last three or four decades in terms of advancing LGBTQ+ rights globally. But to this day, there are still more than 60 countries that criminalize consensual same sex activity. I think something like 11 have the death penalty as one of the penalties for individuals who are convicted under these criminal statutes. In many countries being transgender or in some way kind of deviating from normative gender identities or gender expressions is criminalized as well.

David Hunt:

The Williams Institute has played a key role in helping to advance human rights for LGBTQ people. Until funding was canceled by the Trump administration in January, the institute participated in two USAID programs in the current fiscal year: A task force providing technical assistance to USAID programs seeking to serve marginalized populations and the Global Human Rights Initiative, a broad-based effort to advance human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Through his contacts at those programs, Shaw has seen the devastating impact of Trump’s funding cuts.

Ari Shaw:

I've certainly had conversations with, with groups around the world who have, who have lost their funding that have had to either close their doors entirely or lay off substantial numbers of, of staff and employees and, and these are organizations again, that are providing in, in many cases, lifesaving, necessary care and services to to the community you know, providing medical services orc shelters for you know, unhoused or you know, other people in, in really dire circumstances whose lives are at risk now because they're, they're not able to access these services.

It's a really dire set of circumstances and there is there's a lot of fear and and precarity because it's not clear where additional funding would, would come from you know, in, in, in many cases, even just you know, services that were already performed that were contracted by the US government through U-S-A-I-D you know, where, where organizations you know, they, they've already, they've already provided the services and, and are just supposed to be paid to reimburse for those expenses. You know, they haven't been able to receive those funds. So it really is a kind of life or death scenario for a number of organizations and as a result for individuals and communities that are, that are dependent on those organizations for services.

David Hunt:

You’re listening to This Way Out, the International LGBTQ Radio Magazine. I’m David Hunt, continuing my conversation with Ari Shaw, senior fellow and director of international programs at the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law.

Foreign aid for LGBTQ programs is a relatively new endeavor. The Biden administration embraced inclusive development practices shortly after Joe Biden’s inauguration in January 2021. USAID increased resources for LGBTQ programming from $6 million in 2021 to $25 million in 2024. At this level, USAID was the second largest global donor to activities supporting LGBTQ people in developing countries, Shaw says.

Ari Shaw:

The Biden administration, I think in many respects, continued what was started under the Obama administration in terms of really acknowledging the importance of advancing LGBT rights through US foreign policy and the importance of kinda strong US leadership on, on these issues at the global stage. But under President Biden, LGBTI rights were really sort of elevated and centered as a priority within US foreign policy and development assistance. You know, in his first days in office, he issued a presidential memorandum that specifically centered advancing the human rights of LGBTQ people in US foreign policy and development assistance, and called on federal agencies to ensure that they were taking steps to to advance these rights. And kind of specifically called out issues around ending so-called conversion therapy practices efforts to, debunked efforts to change one sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as protecting the rights of LGBTQI plus migrants and refugees and sort of broadly decriminalizing consensual same sex activity around the world.

So it was a really I think important sort of milestone in terms of establishing a clear priority for US foreign policy and, and kind of guiding how the US would engage with other countries and in multilateral spaces like the United Nations and the World Bank in terms of you know, working to, to advance these human rights around the world.

David Hunt:

What Trump and opponents of foreign aid don’t appreciate is the importance of soft power to America’s standing in the world — and to the promotion of its interests.

Ari Shaw:

When you think about foreign aid, again, it's, it's often held up asc an example of, of waste and abuse, but really it is you know, less than 1% of, of the entire US government and you know, reaps tremendous benefit in, in terms of the value that that the US government and, and the American people receive in, in return you know, by taking actions that you know, support humanitarian assistance or global health or you know, protecting the basic human rights of, of individuals around the world, the US is able to be seen by local communities as as a partner who supports you know, fundamental freedoms who supports sort of basic needs and services that that comes you know, to, to support local communities after a humanitarian disaster or you know, other, other complex emergencies that, that require assistance and you know, in a, at a very basic level, that that helps people around the world see us as us as in a benevolent light in, in a good light, right? As a strong supportive partner and not as an adversary. It's precisely this type of foreign assistance that you know, serves the kind of larger goal of you know, ensuring the US has kind of moral leadership and, and you know, the ability to cultivate and, and support strong allies around the world.

David Hunt:

It’s not just the cancellation of foreign aid that has created a crisis for aid recipients around the world. The sudden and chaotic nature of the funding cuts — and the unsupported claims of waste and fraud — took many programs by surprise. And left them and their clients struggling to survive.

Ari Shaw:

When the US government deploys that sort of rhetoric and and policymaking, it reinforces the stigma and gives permission to leaders and groups that oppose LGBTQ rights to, to kind of further drive, drive that message and, and attacks on, on the community.

It's fair to look at federal agencies and programs and examine where there are opportunities to make things more efficient, more streamlined and ensure that you know, services and programs are being delivered in the most cost-effective way possible. But in the case of the foreign aid pause and, and review, I think a cudgel was used when a scalpel was, was really needed. And so as, as you note lifesaving critical programs were, were cut in, in one fell swoop when I think a more systematic, thoughtful review of individual programs and investments could have could have made more sense. We definitely have seen research and reporting that shows the impact that you know, these cuts have had already, whether it's you know, eliminating lifesaving HIV treatment and prevention medications through PEPFAR, whether it's international disaster assistance and humanitarian responses. You know, we've also seen this through the state department's migration and refugee assistance fund that's been cut and the, the door to refugee resettlement essentially shut for for nearly all people that are, that are fleeing violence and, and persecution and, and trying to seek refuge in the United States. So it's, it's already had tremendous consequences for individuals in countries around the world.

David Hunt: 

Is the damage to America’s reputation and moral leadership permanent? It’s too soon to tell, but reputations take far longer to build — or rebuild — than they do to dismantle. 

Ari Shaw:

It's clear that under the Trump administration, the US is fully abdicated its global leadership on LGBTQ plus rights. Not only in terms of the pause or the elimination of, of foreign aid funding, but also we see it in the, in the proposed reorganization of the State Department that that has been coming out in, in recent weeks where programming pertaining to human rights and the rule of law is either being eliminated or, orc drastically reduced. The Trump administration, I think, unsurprisingly, has not appointed a special envoy for LGBT LGBTQ plus rights of their own. They've withdrawn from the UN Human Rights Council, which is an important body for assessing the human rights situation of various countries, including how they're treating LGBTQ plus people and communities.

And this sort of general turn or affinity that the Trump administration seems to have for authoritarian leaders and, and systems is, is really kind of anathema to to the kind of support for liberal democratic values, including minority protections and support for LGBTQI plus rights that we saw under the previous administration. So I think across the board we're seeing the Trump administration make an about face in terms of how it's acting on the global stage and and with regard to LGBTQ plus rights.

David Hunt:

But the United States is not alone on the world stage. Other nations — perhaps allies, perhaps adversaries — may take America’s place, exercising the soft power that once enabled the U.S. to lead with its heart, not just its muscle.

I’d like to thank Ari Shaw for sharing his insights for this program. Shaw is a senior fellow and director of international programs at the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law. For This Way Out, I’m David Hunt.