Are religious charities under Trump and Musk’s knife? 

Christian charities are waiting cautiously to see how the White House’s recent anti-aid priorities are going to affect their organizations serving millions of people across the world.

The first few weeks of the Trump administration already have seen tensions flare between religious organizations and the new leaders of the executive branch. From Pope Francis condemning Vice President JD Vance’s interpretation of ordo amoris, to Wheaton College’s tempering its congratulations for graduate Russell Vought joining the administration, to Christianity Today being accused of receiving government funds, to controversy over Presbyterian Church in America-adjacent organizations speaking out against ICE, the administration’s and its fan’s dealings with religious organizations have ratcheted up the overall tense tone of the past month.

With the appearance of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the executive branch has set itself on a mission to gut the federal government to the extent of its power, incurring multiple lawsuits and firing thousands of federal employees. Considering religious charities play a major role in domestic and international outreach, directly working with federal organizations to address specific issues in different parts of the world, many Christian organizations are outspokenly anxious.

Trump’s pause on foreign aid 

One of Donald Trump’s first executive orders on Jan. 20 was a 90-day pause on foreign aid as part of his plan to reevaluate and realign foreign spending. On Jan. 28, Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a temporary waiver allowing “implementers of existing life-saving humanitarian assistance programs” to continue receiving funding amid the administration’s ongoing reevaluation of federal spending, excluding those that provide abortions, “gender or DEI ideology programs, transgender surgeries or other non-life saving assistance.”

The short-term effect of the pause has been widespread reports of chaos as international NGOs and nonprofits claim the order has closed their organizations and prevented distribution of sensitive food and medical supplies.

Ministry Watch reports the effect has been mixed on Christian organizations, due in part to the secretary of state’s waiver, but it has left many NGOs that receive federal aid in a lurch. Samaritan’s Purse, which has received $90 million from USAID in the past four years, released a statement Feb. 5 affirming its solvency. Other organizations like Catholic Relief Services, International Justice Mission, World Vision, Medical Teams International, and Mercy Corps, which similarly receive millions or billions of dollars annually from USAID, may for now be able to breathe a sigh of relief. However, several of these organizations are still reporting reduced funding and workforce reductions.

Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham and an ardent supporter of Trump, released a statement affirming that “the recent stop order on foreign aid does not affect Samaritan’s Purse because the State Department has issued a waiver for life-saving essential aid such as food and medicine.” In a separate statement on Facebook, Graham praised Trump and Musk’s gutting of USAID while still encouraging “the State Department to continue providing aid like food and medicine.” As he’s also affirmed, “the details of the waiver process are not yet clear.”

Christian groups caught in the middle 

This waiver doesn’t mean all Christian organizations are off the chopping block, however. Christianity Today reported Feb. 4 that a church-backed hospital providing HIV care to 3,162 Kenyan patients had yet to see its funding restored since Jan. 24. The Associated Press similarly reports the pause has halted seed distribution in Haiti and food distribution to infants in South Sudan.

Church World Service similarly issued a statement this week that it has chosen to furlough half its staff due to the pause.

“The painful decision to furlough many of our staff means that across the country, refugee families and other legally protected groups of newcomers will have trouble accessing health care, housing assistance, legal services and even basic essentials like warm winter coats for their kids — things that the communities where we work have proudly supported for many decades. As we navigate through this challenging time we will continue to prioritize services for our most vulnerable clients,” said CEO Rick Santos.

While some organizations and watchdog groups have affirmed a review of federal spending is legitimate and necessary, they remain critical of the means by which Trump and Musk has undertaken the task — a process Musk’s allies have called “move fast and break things.”

Democratic lawmakers have alleged gutting USAID is illegal and cannot be done without Congressional approval, while some within these Christian organizations are calling for moderation and a better process.

World Relief Vice President Matthew Soerens told TIME magazine, “If President Trump understood that evangelical Christians wanted secure borders, he’s absolutely right. If he understood that evangelical Christians wanted refugees shut out who had been thoroughly vetted, who in many cases are persecuted Christians, then he got that wrong.”

Better World Campaign similarly encourages that while “there is broad support for a thoughtful review of America’s foreign assistance programs,” the administration needs to pause the stop work order it placed on foreign aid, “or, at least, we must allow active and ongoing programs to continue — via the UN, State Department and USAID — while the review process proceeds.”

Trump’s relationship with religious organizations 

The Trump administration obviously has gained power through a general alliance with conservative Christian organizations across the United States. Despite Trump’s personal apathy toward religion beyond statements that “God saved my life to make America great again” and a tempered stance toward pro-life issues during the election cycle, conservative evangelicals and Catholics have been among his most enthusiastic supporters. Trump has proved transactional with these groups, pardoning pro-life activists charged with blockading clinics and (re)establishing a White House Faith Office to “assist faith-based entities, community organizations and houses of worship in their efforts to strengthen American families, promote work and self-sufficiency, and protect religious liberty.”

While the Trump administration claims not to be hostile to Christianity, the executive branch’s “America First” stances on immigration, refugee resettlement, international aid, LGBTQ issues and women’s rights mean Christian charities that intersect with these issues risk losing funding or drawing ire if they step out of line with Trump’s agenda.

Trump and Musk claim massive fraud in USAID allocations but critics of the administration counter that USAID has legitimate functions that aid millions of people around the world and most of the fraud allegations are misunderstood or false.

DOGE vs. Lutheranism 

Regardless, the accusations already have placed religious organizations within the crosshairs of DOGE. On Feb. 1, Michael Flynn accused “the Lutheran faith,” or more specifically the ELCA-backed Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and other services of laundering millions of dollars. Musk was quick to affirm his team was “rapidly shutting down these illegal payments.”

ELCA Bishop Elizabeth Eaton immediately responded the following day with a video arguing that “false accusations” and “misinformation” were sparking “baseless doubt” against their work. “We strongly urge political leaders at all levels of government to use their offices and platforms responsibly,” she said.

Global Refuge CEO Krish O’Mara Vignarajah subsequently condemned the Flynn-Musk accusations as being false, saying in a statement to Religion News Service, “As a faith-based nonprofit, we have proudly served legally admitted refugees and immigrants for more than 85 years. This includes Afghan allies who risked their lives to protect U.S. troops, as well as persecuted Christians, all of whom have been extensively vetted and approved by multiple U.S. government agencies before traveling to our country. We also remain committed to caring for legally admitted unaccompanied children forced to flee to the United States.”

Members of Lutheran synods outside of the ELCA were quick to distance themselves from such groups as accusations flew broadly against all Lutheran organizations but still suggested the Musk allegations were “reckless.” Conservative Lutheran Pastor Hans Fiene wrote, “My advice in all of this is to be cautious and charitable.”

He added: “I get the sense that a lot of people didn’t know before a couple days ago that religious charities get a bunch of government grants and, OK fine, not a big deal if you didn’t know that, but probably not a great idea to say it’s a terrible thing we gotta kill just because Elon said so.”

On-the-ground negative consequences 

As it stands, many faith-based organizations are waiting to see if they will make the cut at the end of the 90-day pause. Larger organizations like Samaritan’s Purse have been able to rely on donations to reassure their recipients of aid, but other organizations like World Relief have said they don’t have the money on hand to wait months for several of their projects. It is likely that Trump, Rubio and Musk will attempt to restore funding to faith-based partners but the short-term windfall of losing funding could still have severely negative or deadly effects.

The National Catholic Register reports several Christian groups gathered at the U.S. Capitol Feb. 5 to protest the closure of USAID. In addition to making the case that the shutdown was harming vulnerable people and children around the world, USAID staffers and charity representatives defended the organization’s impact around the world and lamented how many careers had been destroyed in the mass layoffs.

Pax Christi International Senior Program Director Marie Dennis encouraged others to “listen to the stories. These are human stories. These are not cheaters, or thieves and corrupt people. They’re human beings trying to survive around the world.”

In a statement to AP, USAID CSO Adam Phillips even praised Trump’s previous “incredible work” in regard to his first term collaboration with the organization’s faith partnerships. “It’s so mystifying to see what the second Trump administration is doing, because they’re really going backward on some extraordinary commitments when it comes to faith-based partners.”

Opposing perspectives 

Conservative evangelical watchdog Warren Cole Smith, while admonishing some of the conspiracy theories surrounding USAID, still encourages Trump and Musk to approach the issue of government spending through more direct means. Trump and DOGE “must be guided by principle and not by the prospect of cheap and fleeting political wins. DOGE should not be just one more way for the federal government to show favoritism toward those organizations and people it likes, or to stir up chaos without accomplishing the efficiency it promises. We cannot simply push their hogs away from the trough to make room for our hogs. Otherwise, this half-century love-hate relationship that conservatives have had with government handouts will continue.”

MSNBC contributor Ja’han Jones conversely accused MAGA Republicans of hypocrisy for engaging in religious discrimination against fellow Christians.

“Republicans seem to love peddling false claims that the federal government has cracked down on conservatives’ freedom of religious expression,” Jones said. “Reality has shown otherwise, but the accusations are ever more galling as we watch right-wingers wage their own religious persecution. To be clear, this hypocrisy has long been apparent to many non-Christians — for example, Muslim Americans who’ve been surveilled and scapegoated as terrorist sympathizers. But MAGA enthusiasts’ ire toward Christians has been a remarkable development for a movement filled with so many self-identifying Christians.”

 

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