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Project 2025 › Chapter 9

Agency for International Development

Chapter 9 · pp. 253–282 · Max Primorac

What this chapter is about

This chapter is about the agency that sends aid abroad. It says the agency should be much smaller. It wants its diversity offices closed. It wants climate rules dropped from aid. It also asks for tight rules about abortion, and it says partners that work with China should lose funding.

11 proposals indexed from this chapter.

Cut USAID back to its 2019 budget level

The document says “should”Who acts: President, CongressHow: legislationp. 254 in the PDF
What the document says

“The next conservative Administration should scale back USAID’s global footprint by, at a minimum, returning to the agency’s 2019 pre–COVID-19 pandemic budget level.”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 254

The chapter asks for the agency's global footprint to be scaled back to at least its 2019 level, for its programs and structures to be, in its word, deradicalised, and for deep cuts to the international affairs 150 Account while giving the agency more flexibility over how it spends what remains.

What the document actually says

“The next conservative Administration should scale back USAID’s global footprint by, at a minimum, returning to the agency’s 2019 pre–COVID-19 pandemic budget level.”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 254
That sentence, in plain words

Make this agency smaller. Take its budget back to what it was in 2019.

What this is about

This agency sends aid to poor countries. Its budget grew during the pandemic. The book says it should go back to the 2019 level.

What has happened
Partly matches

Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid

2025-01-20 · 90 FR 8619

Addresses the chapter's subject of scaling the agency back, by a different route. The chapter asked for a return to at least the 2019 budget level and deep cuts to the international affairs account, which requires Congress; this order pauses and reviews existing assistance under executive authority.

In plain English

The book asked that the aid agency shrink back to its 2019 budget. That takes an act of Congress. This order pauses and reviews aid already granted. It uses the President's own power, so it meets the same aim by another route.

End climate policies in foreign aid and support oil and gas

The document says “should”Who acts: President, USAIDHow: internal managementp. 257 in the PDF
What the document says

“USAID should cease its war on fossil fuels in the developing world and support the responsible management of oil and gas reserves”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 257

The chapter says this is the quickest way to end what it calls wrenching poverty and the need for open-ended foreign aid. It asks that all climate policies be rescinded from foreign aid programs and that the agency cease collaborating with and funding foundations, corporations, international institutions and NGOs that it says advocate climate fanaticism.

What the document actually says

“USAID should cease its war on fossil fuels in the developing world and support the responsible management of oil and gas reserves”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 257
That sentence, in plain words

Stop fighting oil and gas in poor countries. Help them use it well instead.

What this is about

Poor countries often have oil and gas. Aid rules have discouraged using them. The book says that keeps people poor. It wants those rules dropped.

What has happened
Partly matches

Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements

2025-01-20 · 90 FR 8455

Section 3(e) of Executive Order 14162 revokes and rescinds the U.S. International Climate Finance Plan immediately and directs the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance within 10 days for the rescission of all frozen funds. Section 3(f) requires the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, with the heads of the other departments and agencies that fund work abroad, to report within 30 days on their actions to revoke or rescind policies implemented to advance that plan. That is the rescission of climate policies from foreign aid programs the chapter asks for. The rest of the proposal is absent. The order does not direct support for the responsible management of oil and gas reserves in the developing world, and it says nothing about the agency's collaboration with or funding of the foundations, corporations, international institutions and nongovernmental organizations the chapter names.

In plain English

The order pulls the plan for climate money abroad and tells the budget office to write rules within 10 days. The aid agency and others must report within 30 days on steps to undo that plan. That is the end of climate policy in aid the book asked for. But the order does not back oil and gas work in poor countries. It says nothing about the groups the book names.

Dismantle the agency's diversity structures and dismiss staff who promote them

The document says “should”Who acts: President, USAIDHow: internal managementp. 258 in the PDF
What the document says

“The next conservative Administration should dismantle USAID’s DEI apparatus by eliminating the Chief Diversity Officer position along with the DEI advisers and committees”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 258

The chapter also asks that the diversity scorecard and dashboard be canceled, that such requirements be removed from contract and grant tenders, and that a directive issue to cease promotion of the agenda including what it calls the bullying LGBTQ+ agenda. It says staff, implementers and grantees who engage in ideological agitation on its behalf should be dismissed and entities debarred, and that funding for partners promoting such practices should end.

What the document actually says

“The next conservative Administration should dismantle USAID’s DEI apparatus by eliminating the Chief Diversity Officer position along with the DEI advisers and committees”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 258
That sentence, in plain words

Take apart the diversity setup here. End the top diversity job. End the panels too.

What this is about

This agency has offices working on diversity. The book says they should be closed. It says staff who push that agenda should be let go. Firms that do so would lose funding.

What has happened
Partly matches

Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing

2025-01-20 · 90 FR 8339

Executive Order 14151, signed January 20, 2025, orders every agency head within sixty days to terminate, to the maximum extent allowed by law, all DEI and DEIA offices and positions, naming Chief Diversity Officer positions, along with all equity action plans, equity related grants or contracts, and all DEI or DEIA performance requirements for employees, contractors and grantees, and to report to the Office of Management and Budget every such position, program and expenditure in existence on November 4, 2024 plus the contractors and grantees involved. Where the fit breaks down: the order is government-wide and reaches USAID only by that route, never naming the agency or its structures. The diversity scorecard and dashboard the chapter asks be canceled are not mentioned, there is no directive on what the chapter calls the LGBTQ plus agenda, and the order ends positions and programs rather than dismissing staff or debarring implementers and grantees.

In plain English

The order gives each agency 60 days to end all diversity posts and plans, as far as the law allows. Chief diversity jobs are named. But the aid agency is not named and is covered only as one of many. The score card the book wanted pulled is not mentioned. It ends jobs and programs rather than firing staff or barring partners.

What cites those orders

8 agency rules

Each of these names the order above in its own summary, preamble or filing. That is a fact about the document, not a finding that it carries out this proposal: it is one step further away than the order is, and what it does about the proposal is a reading nobody has made here.

Reinstate and widen the Mexico City Policy on abortion

The document says “should”Who acts: PresidentHow: executive orderp. 261 in the PDF
What the document says

“the next conservative Administration should issue an executive order that, at a minimum, reinstates PLGHA and summarily blocks funding to UNFPA”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 261

Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance, known as the Mexico City Policy, bars US global health funding to foreign organizations that perform or promote abortion. The chapter asks for it to be reinstated, widened to all foreign assistance including humanitarian aid, extended to subgrantees and subcontractors, with exemptions for US-based NGOs and international organizations removed, compliance reported, and debarment as a penalty. It also asks that the Biden memorandum of January 28, 2021 be rescinded.

What the document actually says

“the next conservative Administration should issue an executive order that, at a minimum, reinstates PLGHA and summarily blocks funding to UNFPA”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 261
That sentence, in plain words

Sign an order bringing back this rule. Also cut money to one United Nations fund.

What this is about

A rule stops US aid going to groups abroad that do abortions. Presidents have turned it on and off. The book wants it back. It wants it to cover more kinds of aid.

What has happened
Partly matches

The Mexico City Policy

2025-01-24 · 90 FR 8753

The memorandum of January 24, 2025 revokes the January 28, 2021 memorandum, reinstates the January 23, 2017 Mexico City Policy, and directs the Secretary of State, with Health and Human Services, to implement a plan extending the reinstated requirements to global health assistance furnished by all departments and agencies. It also directs the Secretary of State to ensure that no taxpayer money funds organizations or programs supporting or participating in coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization. Where it falls short of the proposal: it does not name the United Nations Population Fund or block its funding, and its extension reaches global health assistance rather than all foreign assistance including humanitarian aid. It says nothing about subgrantees and subcontractors or about removing the exemptions for United States based nongovernmental organizations and international organizations. The State Department rule Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance, published January 27, 2026 and effective February 26, 2026, later carried the policy into an award term binding foreign NGOs, United States NGOs, public international organizations, foreign governments and parastatals.

In plain English

The memo pulls a 2021 memo and brings back the Mexico City Policy of 2017. Two cabinet heads must extend it to all global health aid. But it does not name or defund the UN population fund. It reaches health aid, not all foreign aid. It says nothing about the groups working under those grants, or about the current carve outs.

Remove the word gender and related terms from agency materials

The document says “should”Who acts: USAIDHow: internal managementp. 259 in the PDF
What the document says

“It should remove all references, examples, definitions, photos, and language on USAID websites”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 259

The chapter lists the terms to be removed as gender, gender equality, gender equity, gender diverse individuals, gender aware and gender sensitive, across websites, publications, policies, contracts and grants. It also asks that the Office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment be renamed and that a presidential memorandum on gender in the program cycle be rescinded.

What the document actually says

“It should remove all references, examples, definitions, photos, and language on USAID websites”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 259
That sentence, in plain words

Take these words off the websites. Take out the pictures too.

What this is about

The agency uses the word gender in its work. The book says that word should go. It wants it taken out of the website and papers.

What has happened
Partly matches

Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government

2025-01-20 · 90 FR 8615

Executive Order 14168 directs every agency to remove all statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications and other internal and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology and to stop issuing them, to use the term sex and not gender in all applicable federal policies and documents when administering sex based distinctions, and to ensure that grant funds do not promote gender ideology. That is the removal of material the chapter asks for, and it reaches the U.S. Agency for International Development as an executive agency. It is government wide and names neither the agency nor its websites, it turns on material that promotes gender ideology rather than on the vocabulary the chapter lists, which includes gender equality, gender equity, gender aware and gender sensitive, and it neither renames the Office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment nor rescinds the presidential memorandum on gender in the program cycle.

In plain English

The order tells every agency to pull forms and words that push gender ideas. Grant money may not push them either. That covers the aid agency, but the order names neither it nor its websites. It turns on material that pushes those ideas, not on the word list the book gives. And it renames no office.

Partly matches

Combating Gender Ideology in Foreign Assistance

2026-01-27 · 91 FR 3332

The State Department's final rule of January 27, 2026 adds an award term, Combating Gender Ideology in Foreign Assistance, to grants, cooperative agreements and voluntary contributions, imposing requirements relating to gender ideology on foreign and United States nongovernmental organizations, international organizations, foreign governments and parastatals, and incorporating the term into awards as new funds are added. Contracts and grants are among the places the chapter asks that the language be removed. The rule conditions what a recipient may do with the money rather than removing terms from the agency's own websites, publications and policies, it is a State Department rule rather than an act of the agency the chapter addresses, and this site holds the rule's summary rather than the text of the award term, so what the term requires word for word cannot be checked here.

In plain English

A State Department rule of January 27, 2026 adds a new term to aid grants. It puts rules on gender ideology on the groups that take the money. Grants are one place the chapter wanted such words dropped. But the rule sets terms for spending, not what is on the agency's own web pages.

What cites those orders

12 agency rules

Each of these names the order above in its own summary, preamble or filing. That is a fact about the document, not a finding that it carries out this proposal: it is one step further away than the order is, and what it does about the proposal is a reading nobody has made here.

Implement the Geneva Consensus Declaration

The document says “should”Who acts: USAIDHow: internal managementp. 260 in the PDF
What the document says

“Office of Women, Children, and Families should implement the Geneva Consensus Declaration on Women’s Health and Protection of the Family”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 260

The Geneva Consensus Declaration is a non-binding statement signed by a group of countries in 2020 asserting there is no international right to abortion and affirming the family as the natural unit of society. The chapter asks that the agency implement it and prioritize partnerships with local organizations including faith-based ones, and that the agency's goal be to protect all members of society from conception to natural death.

What the document actually says

“Office of Women, Children, and Families should implement the Geneva Consensus Declaration on Women’s Health and Protection of the Family”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 260
That sentence, in plain words

This office should carry out a deal signed in 2020. It is named after the city of Geneva.

What this is about

Some countries signed a statement in 2020. It says there is no world right to abortion. It also backs the family. The book says this office should follow it.

Read against the documents indexed here on August 26, 2026, and nothing was found that answers this. Executive Order 14182, signed January 24, 2025, revokes two 2022 executive orders and directs the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance on ending federal funding of elective abortion. It works on domestic federal programs and never mentions the Geneva Consensus Declaration. No indexed document adopts or implements the declaration, and none addresses the Office of Women, Children, and Families or partnerships with local faith based organizations. That is a record of a search, not a finding that nothing has happened: an act this site does not hold, or one that answers the proposal in words unlike its own, would not be caught by it.

Make religious freedom part of all development programs

The document says “must”Who acts: USAID, CongressHow: internal managementp. 262 in the PDF
What the document says

“The next conservative Administration must champion the core American value of religious freedom”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 262

The chapter says religious freedom correlates significantly with poverty reduction, economic growth and peace. It asks that all staff be trained on that connection, that it be integrated into all programs including the five-year country strategies due for update in 2025, that missions strengthen ties with local faith leaders, and that Congress appropriate funding specifically to support persecuted religious minorities.

What the document actually says

“The next conservative Administration must champion the core American value of religious freedom”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 262
That sentence, in plain words

The next team must stand up for religious freedom. It is a core American value.

What this is about

Religious freedom means people can follow any faith. The book says it helps countries grow richer. It wants that built into every aid program.

Read against the documents indexed here on August 26, 2026, and nothing was found that answers this. Executive Order 14202, signed February 6, 2025, sets up a task force on anti-Christian bias inside the federal government and directs agencies to identify and correct their own conduct. It is about the treatment of Americans by their government, not about development programs abroad. Nothing indexed integrates religious freedom into aid programming, staff training or the five-year country strategies, and nothing appropriates funding to support persecuted communities. That is a record of a search, not a finding that nothing has happened: an act this site does not hold, or one that answers the proposal in words unlike its own, would not be caught by it.

Give the USAID Administrator authority over all foreign assistance

The document says “should”Who acts: PresidentHow: internal managementp. 255 in the PDF
What the document says

“The USAID Administrator should be authorized to take on the additional role of Director of Foreign Assistance”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 255

The chapter asks that the Administrator hold the additional role of Director of Foreign Assistance with the rank of Deputy Secretary, which would place the agency's head over the coordination of foreign assistance more broadly.

What the document actually says

“The USAID Administrator should be authorized to take on the additional role of Director of Foreign Assistance”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 255
That sentence, in plain words

The head of this agency should also run all foreign aid.

What this is about

Aid is handled by more than one agency. The book says one person should run it all. That person would be the head of USAID.

What has happened
Same subject, different route

Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid

2025-01-20 · 90 FR 8619

Executive Order 14169 settles who coordinates foreign assistance, which is the question the proposal turns on, and settles it the other way. Reviews of each foreign assistance program are ordered under guidelines provided by the Secretary of State, determinations to continue, modify or cease a program require his concurrence, and any new foreign assistance program or obligation must be approved by him or his designee. The chapter would place that coordinating role with the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, holding the additional title of Director of Foreign Assistance with the rank of Deputy Secretary. The order creates no such title or rank, and it is a pause and review order rather than a standing grant of authority over all foreign assistance.

In plain English

The order settles who runs foreign aid, and settles it the other way. Reviews, changes and new aid all need the State head's sign off. The book would have given that role to the aid agency's chief, with a new title and higher rank. The order makes no such title and grants no lasting power. It is a pause and review order.

Cut funding to any partner that engages with Chinese entities

The document says “should”Who acts: USAIDHow: internal managementp. 256 in the PDF
What the document says

“eliminate funding to any partner that engages with Chinese entities directly or indirectly”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 256

The chapter asks that aid reward countries that resist what it calls China's debt diplomacy, that programs be financed to counter specific Chinese efforts in strategically important countries, and that the Bangkok-based regional mission focus on cross-border initiatives countering Chinese influence.

What the document actually says

“eliminate funding to any partner that engages with Chinese entities directly or indirectly”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 256
That sentence, in plain words

Cut off money to any partner that deals with China. That includes indirect dealings.

What this is about

The agency works through partner groups abroad. Some of them also work with China. The book says those should lose their funding.

What has happened
Partly matches

Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid

2025-01-20 · 90 FR 8619

The review standard is alignment with the President's foreign policy generally. The chapter's proposal was narrower and specific: ending funding to any partner engaging with Chinese entities.

In plain English

The order reviews aid by one test: whether it fits the President's foreign policy. The book asked for something narrower. It wanted an end to funds for any partner that deals with Chinese groups.

Press for abortion language to be removed from UN documents

The document says “should”Who acts: USAID, State DepartmentHow: internal managementp. 266 in the PDF
What the document says

“assurances that language promoting abortion will be removed from U.N. documents, policy statements, and technical literature”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 266

The chapter asks that a political appointee coordinate cross-agency efforts to hold United Nations and World Health Organization agencies to a higher standard of financial and programmatic accountability, and includes this among the assurances sought. It also asks for more prominent American representation on international technical and regulation-setting committees.

What the document actually says

“assurances that language promoting abortion will be removed from U.N. documents, policy statements, and technical literature”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 266
That sentence, in plain words

Ask them to take language that supports abortion out of their papers.

What this is about

The United States pays into United Nations bodies. Their papers mention abortion. The book says that language should be taken out.

Read against the documents indexed here on August 26, 2026, and nothing was found that answers this. The State Department rule Protecting Life in Foreign Assistance, effective February 26, 2026, adds an award term imposing abortion related requirements on recipients including public international organizations, so it does reach United Nations bodies that take American money. What it does is condition funding. The proposal asks for assurances that language promoting abortion be removed from United Nations documents, policy statements and technical literature, and no indexed document seeks changes to what those bodies publish or presses for American representation on their technical committees. That is a record of a search, not a finding that nothing has happened: an act this site does not hold, or one that answers the proposal in words unlike its own, would not be caught by it.

Resize humanitarian aid back to short-term emergency relief

The document says “should”Who acts: USAIDHow: internal managementp. 268 in the PDF
What the document says

“The next Administration should resize and repurpose USAID’s humanitarian aid portfolio to restore its original purpose of providing emergency short-term relief”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 268

The chapter records that the agency merged food and non-food emergency relief into a single humanitarian bureau in 2020 and says that reform was not sufficient. It asks that the portfolio be resized to short-term relief, prepare vulnerable communities for transition, and do no harm.

What the document actually says

“The next Administration should resize and repurpose USAID’s humanitarian aid portfolio to restore its original purpose of providing emergency short-term relief”

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 268
That sentence, in plain words

Make this aid smaller again. It should be for short emergencies only.

What this is about

Some aid is for sudden disasters. The book says it now runs on for years. It says it should go back to short-term help.

What has happened
Same subject, different route

To rescind certain budget authority proposed to be rescinded in special messages transmitted to the Congress by the President on June 3, 2025, in accordance with section 1012(a) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974

2025-07-24 · 139 Stat. 467

The Rescissions Act of 2025 cuts the portfolio the proposal is about: $800,000,000 from Migration and Refugee Assistance, $496,000,000 from International Disaster Assistance and $43,000,000 from the Complex Crises Fund, with food aid programs held out of the disaster assistance cut. It makes the portfolio smaller, but not in the way the chapter asks. The accounts it cuts are the emergency relief side of the portfolio rather than the longer term work the chapter would move away from, nothing in the Act repurposes the portfolio toward short term relief or addresses the 2020 merger of food and non-food emergency relief into a single bureau, and these are rescissions enacted by Congress rather than a resizing carried out by the agency.

In plain English

The 2025 law cuts the aid money the proposal is about. It takes back $800 million for refugees, $496 million for disaster aid, and $43 million from a crisis fund. Food aid was left out of the cut. But the cuts hit short term relief, which the chapter wanted kept, and Congress made them.

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How to cite this
  1. The document itself

    Max Primorac, “Agency for International Development,” in Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, edited by Paul Dans and Steven Groves (The Heritage Foundation, 2023), pp. 253-282.
    https://static.heritage.org/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf

  2. This page

    “Agency for International Development,” Project 2025, chapter 9. Read the Mandate, https://readthemandate.org/project-2025/chapter-9/ (retrieved October 7, 2026).

Cite the document when the claim is about what the document says. Cite this page when the indexing, the wording or the record of what has happened is what is being relied on.

What This Page Covers, and What It Leaves Out

Recommendations on the agency's size and budget, its diversity structures, climate and energy policy in aid, abortion and family policy, religious freedom, China, procurement, humanitarian assistance and multilateral organizations.

The chapter's account of how the agency currently operates, and much of its detailed procurement and bureau-level reorganization, which runs to many specific items.

This chapter uses contested terms of its own, such as deradicalize, climate fanaticism and the bullying LGBTQ+ agenda. Those appear here only in quotation or clearly attributed to the chapter.