MAGA Revelations and Agency Dissolution: The Internal Policies of Trump’s Government
Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has launched an aggressive campaign to dismantle crucial federal agencies and consolidate power within his administration. These moves threaten disaster relief efforts, foreign aid programs, aviation safety, and even the integrity of the civil service itself.
Dismantling FEMA: A Death Sentence for Disaster Victims
Trump has announced plans to abolish the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a decision that could have catastrophic consequences for Americans facing natural disasters. This proposal comes at a time when natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, and floods are intensified by increasing climate change, making federal disaster relief more essential than ever. The dissolution of FEMA would not only reduce aid for victims but also create chaos in disaster response, forcing under-resourced states to fend for themselves.
Destroying USAID: Weakening U.S. Influence and Humanitarian Efforts
The administration has also announced plans to dissolve the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a key tool of American soft power. USAID provides crucial foreign aid and humanitarian relief, and its termination would severely limit U.S. influence abroad. One of the most devastating consequences of this move would be the termination of PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), a program that has saved millions of lives by funding HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention worldwide. Shutting down PEPFAR would not only devastate global public health, but also limit access to sexual health resources within the U.S.
Gutting the Department of Education: Undermining Public Schools and Higher Education
While Trump’s administration does not have direct control over state curricula, his push to weaken the Department of Education would slash funding for public schools and universities. The Department plays a critical role in enforcing educational rights, supporting low-income students, and funding higher education. The erosion of these programs would disproportionately harm marginalized communities, exacerbating educational inequality across the country.
FAA Purge: Prioritizing Ideology Over Air Safety
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)is also going to be severely impacted. Trump has systematically fired safety officials within the FAA, a move widely hypothesised to have contributed to the recent spate of fatal plane crashes. Instead of taking responsibility, Trump and his allies have absurdly blamed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies for these tragedies. This blatant scapegoating of DEI ignores the real issue: the reckless purging of experienced safety officials in favor of ideological loyalists.
Government Hiring: Enforcing MAGA Loyalty Tests
Trump’s administration is enforcing extreme loyalty tests for federal employees, requiring applicants to demonstrate their commitment to the "MAGA" agenda. Federal employees may even be forced to sign loyalty oaths specifically to Trump himself—an authoritarian move that undermines the integrity of public service. Additionally, the administration is pushing to eliminate DEI-based hiring practices, reinforcing the stereotype of federal agencies being dominated by white, elite, Ivy League-educated men. This may result in the elimination of programs like the Pickering and Rangel Fellowships, which provide educational and career opportunities to underrepresented communities in the State Department.The Trump administration’s policies may also threaten government pension schemes. If loyalty tests and ideological purges continue, lifelong civil servants could find themselves out of work and without the retirement security they were promised. The President’s dangerous efforts to homogenise federal service imply a required personal loyalty to Trump above the constitution that federal employees have sworn to serve.
The Elon Musk Factor: A Tech Billionaire Turned Unelected Official
One of the most drastic developments of Trump’s new administration is the rise of Elon Musk as an unelected government figure. Musk, now inexplicably given a platform within the administration, has been delivering addresses from the Oval Office often, in an unprofessional manner. In one particularly humiliating moment for Trump, Musk’s child openly questioned Trump’s legitimacy as president. The image of Musk standing over Trump, speaking before him, represents one of the weakest moments of any sitting president in U.S. history.
A Dangerous Power Grab
Trump’s sweeping efforts to dissolve key federal agencies and reshape the government into a tool for personal loyalty are nothing short of authoritarian. These changes not only weaken America’s ability to respond to crises, but also erode its global influence, public education, and the very foundations of its democratic institutions. If unchecked, this administration’s actions could permanently damage the structures that have long upheld American stability and governance.
Image courtesy of Daniel Torok via Wikimedia Commons, ©2025. Some rights reserved.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.
