Following the Trump Administration’s sweeping changes toward the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), its top funding recipient, Catholic Relief Services, may have to cut 50% of its operations.

USAID has contributed billions of dollars to humanitarian work overseas, mainly for overseas outreach and ministry work in over 100 countries globally, which is how the Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services is involved.

As a directive of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under the leadership of tech billionaire Elon Musk, USAID funding is being frozen until further notice. This has led to staff cuts and the headquarters closing its doors. Since the announcement, USAID senior staff has been placed on leave, and all contractors have been relieved of duty.

Catholic Relief Services receives half of its $1.5 billion budget from USAID.

An August 2024 Congressional Research Service report via the Library of Congress shows from 2013 to 2022, Catholic Relief Services received over $4.5 billion in USAID funding for disaster relief and other global endemic issues.

According to the National Catholic Reporter news organization, Sean Callahan, Catholic Relief Services president and CEO, sent a staff-wide email stating, “We anticipate that we will be a much smaller overall organization by the end of this fiscal year.”

Despite the charitable work of USAID, which was founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States to assist WWII survivors in Europe, President Trump said USAID is being “run by a bunch of radical lunatics.” Musk has bolstered that declaration by calling USAID “a criminal organization.”

In 2024, Trump overwhelmingly won the Catholic vote by 20 points, fueled by a few strong statements from the president and vice president. Last October, Trump said that former Vice President Harris was “very destructive to evangelicals and the Catholic Church.” Additionally, Vance said voting for the Harris/Walz ticket would create a sense of “abandonment” among U.S. Catholics.

That notwithstanding, Musk shared on X a fatal blow to the charitable organization.

We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.

Could gone to some great parties.

Did that instead. https://t.co/0V35nacICW

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2025

NBC News reported that “more than a dozen sources” have said there is still an opportunity to save USAID. Administration officials have discussed placing USAID “under the authority of the State Department,” now led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

USAID facilitated and managed $40 billion last year for causes such as digging freshwater wells, emergency food distribution, HIV treatment in third-world countries, and safe women’s health in impoverished areas. According to The Washington Post, this startling amount is less than 1% of the federal budget.