President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) could lay a roadmap regarding the future of the U.S. Agency for International Development based on his previous statements.
Some Trump advisers have reportedly been toying with the idea of moving money that went to USAID to be under the direction of the DFC, according to a Bloomberg report. On Wednesday, Trump sent his nomination of Ben Black for DFC executive to the Senate. Black, co-founder of the private equity firm Fortinbras Enterprises LP, endorsed the DFC funding idea in a blog post from January.
“Much of our current foreign aid budget is waste and should be cut,” Black wrote in a co-authored piece with Joe Lonsdale. “If we are going to spend money abroad, let’s do so with an investment-driven model focused on strategic project finance initiatives.”
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The DFC is structured like an investment company, whereas USAID does not require a return on investment for the funds it distributes. Black pitched a reduction in humanitarian assistance, to allow more room for private equity groups, hedge funds and other investors to project economic strength from the U.S. over China with the DFC instead.
“The DFC has authority to invest directly in projects across the capital structure, allowing it to respond to coercive strategies like China’s Belt and Road Initiative,” Black said.
Much of the criticism about Trump's plan to diminish USAID has been that it threatens the U.S.'s "soft power" in the face of China and Russia, who are investing heavily in regions such as the Middle East and Africa. The plan from Trump advisers, which additionally mirrors that of the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, would rather use the DFC as an instrument of U.S. economic power.
The DFC, created in 2019 by the first Trump administration, as of 2025 has a portfolio worth more than $50 billion and currently pairs with US and overseas private investors on projects. However there's a large funding disparity between the two agencies: USAID distributed nearly $44 billion in aid in 2023, while the DFC invested only $12 billion in 2024.
The Trump administration has reportedly discussed using the DFC more like a sovereign wealth fund than and aid organization, focusing investments in critical minerals and other resource projects.
Black also voiced his support for using DFC to assert dominance in Greenland, a Danish territory that Denmark has repeatedly said is not for sale, but is the yearslong goal of Trump to come under U.S. control.
“Backed by DFC financing, American mining, shipping, and resource-dependent businesses could step in, bringing capital and expertise,” Black wrote. “The result would be a mutually beneficial partnership that strengthens Greenland’s ties to the U.S. while expanding our strategic resource base.”
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According to the report, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was put in charge of USAID, also backs the plan to reduce USAID funding and give more to DFC. In the Senate, Rubio had previously voiced his support for the work USAID was doing.
“We don’t have to give foreign aid," he said in 2013. "We do so because it furthers our national interest. That’s why we give foreign aid. Now obviously there’s a component to foreign aid that’s humanitarian in scope, and that’s important too."