Geopolitics of Sexuality 101: Salvaging US Assistance for Global LGBTQ+ Rights
Supporting LGBTQ+ Organizations Globally Aligns With MAGA’s Narrow Goal of Making America Stronger. Has Anybody Bothered To Tell Them?
This Monday feels like an awful hangover, and I don’t even drink. In toying with USAID, Elon Musk is showing complete oblivion to the role of development aid in global stability in the post-WWII era. His attack on the agency is already having disastrous consequences. In particular, it has erased decades of work by the U.S. to support a network of organizations championing LGBTQ+ rights and economic inclusion globally. My heart goes to the dedicated, selfless development practitioners who spent the past ten years working on this, only to be put out of a job by an unhinged megalomaniac billionaire with no understanding of diplomacy, geopolitics, or even human dynamics.
And yet, ironically, global LGBTQ+ rights always aligned perfectly with the MAGA obsession of: “Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?”. While this should never be the primary rationale for supporting LGBTQ+ people, the reality is that gay liberation always had a geopolitical angle benefiting America. As articulated by Humanity In Action for the U.S.:
LGBT rights are not an end, but an instrument for geopolitical gain
Our community should urgently engage the Administration, particularly LGBTQ+ nominees like Scott Bessen at the Treasury, Jacob Helberg at State, or Envoy Rick Grenell. It is unclear how much can be salvaged, and time is of the essence.
A Strategic Imperative for U.S. National Interests
The Trump administration’s Executive Order on Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid signals a shift in how the U.S. engages with the world. Showcasing how U.S. development aid was rarely purely altruistic is perhaps less hypocritical. However, I am convinced that these narrow objectives make efforts to support LGBTQ+ CSOs and address stigma and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people abroad even more relevant.
With Secretary Rubio leading a strategic review of foreign assistance programs under an "America First" agenda, our community must urgently advocate with the State Department for supporting LGBTQ+ organizations globally as a matter of national interest.
Some people in the MAGA sphere always understood this alignment. During the previous Trump administration, Amb. Rick Grenell had expressed interest in leading a global effort to decriminalize homosexuality, responding to state-sanctioned violence and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals. Of course, it was somewhat misguided: the U.S. cannot single-handedly decriminalize, and grassroots movements are the only ones that ever bring lasting change. Yet, his initiative, which encountered resistance from civil society, acknowledged that supporting LGBTQ+ rights internationally could be an effective tool for strengthening alliances, reinforcing democratic values, and applying strategic pressure against geopolitical adversaries such as Iran, Russia, and China.
Here is an excerpt from a 2019 Trump speech at the General Assembly:
…my administration is working with other nations to stop criminalizing of homosexuality, and we stand in solidarity with LGBTQ people who live in countries that punish, jail, or execute individuals based upon sexual orientation.
Finding Interlocutors in the Administration
The challenge is to ensure that the current administration recognizes the value of global LGBTQ+ rights as part of America's strategic interests. At a time when our organizations have severed most communication channels with conservative politicians, we must identify and engage with individuals who understand that backing LGBTQ+ organizations worldwide benefits America.
Working across the aisle to advance equality might sound like a defeat in this context, but if you ask LGBTQ+ people globally, I am sure they are not interested in martyrdom.
One promising avenue is Scott Bessent's appointment at the Treasury Department. As a side note, Bessent might also be receptive to criticism of Musk’s reckless approach, as he described Bessent as a "business as usual choice" in a November post to X. His leadership over international financial institutions (IFIs) creates a critical opportunity to sustain LGBTQ+ inclusion within multilateral economic policies. Historically, U.S. leadership has been instrumental in ensuring that the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and other IFIs prioritize LGBTQ+ issues in their funding strategies. IFIs can drive economic stability through LGBTQ+ economic inclusion—recognizing that marginalized populations who are economically empowered contribute to national growth and development.
Our argument with Treasury and State should be that the administration can maintain America's influence and prevent adversarial nations from filling the void by ensuring that LGBTQ+ organizations remain prioritized in the U.S. approach to development financing. In MAGA terms, a strong global LGBTQ+ movement is an existential threat to foes like Russia, China, Iran, or ISIS.
Moving Past The USAID Shutdown
Elon Musk’s newfound obsession with USAID introduces an unprecedented challenge for the gay liberation movement. First, he has clear beef with LGBTQ+ people due to his falling out with his daughter and no understanding of the geopolitical role their rights play.
USAID has historically played a significant role in funding and protecting LGBTQ+ organizations worldwide. It has also made significant headway in integrating LGBTQ+ rights into broader U.S. foreign policy—not an easy task. The abrupt halt of USAID’s operations risks creating a vacuum that could lead to a loss of ground on LGBTQ+ rights in places like West Africa or Southeast Asia.
There are alternative strategies. In addition to the Treasury Department’s leadership over multilateral development banks, the State Department, where LGBTQ+ people also hold some key positions, can still promote global LGBTQ+ rights through instruments like the Global Equality Fund (GEF), whose page is still up despite the weekend rampage, without relying on USAID’s structure.
Concrete Actions to Salvage the U.S. Global LGBTQ+ Rights Engagement
Here are some examples of actions LGBTQ+ organizations can take today to ensure the U.S. continues to support LGBTQ+ CSOs globally:
Reinforce LGBTQ+ Inclusion in IFIs – Engage Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to ensure that the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and regional development banks continue investing in LGBTQ+ economic inclusion. The U.S. can condition its financial commitments to these institutions to ensure that LGBTQ+ people benefit from development efforts.
Expand Private-Sector Engagement—With the decline of U.S. government-backed aid, corporate partnerships must fill the gap. U.S.-based multinational corporations have promoted workplace equality and economic opportunity for LGBTQ+ people and even, at times, exerted influence against anti-LGBTQ+ bills. The administration should incentivize these businesses to use their influence to promote workplace inclusion and decriminalization goals and encourage them to join the GEF.
Exert diplomatic Pressure via Trade and Incentives– Trade is now the MAGA’s weapon of choice. The U.S. should explore trade incentives and economic partnerships that reward nations committed to LGBTQ+ human rights.
The Bigger Picture: America’s Role in the Global Fight for Equality
The fight for global LGBTQ+ rights as a social justice issue will not resonate in a post-human rights world. Still, the United States has an economic, political, and national security interest in ensuring LGBTQ+ civil society gets stronger. Trump's geopolitical adversaries have leveraged the suppression of LGBTQ+ rights as a tool to consolidate power, stifle dissent, and define their ideological opposition to the West. Ensuring the resilience of LGBTQ+ movements globally is a strategic counterweight to these adversarial forces.
LGBTQ+ advocacy can thrive even under a shifting foreign aid paradigm by strategically aligning with the administration’s stated goals of making America safer, stronger, and more prosperous. Finding and cultivating interlocutors within the administration, leveraging U.S. financial leadership at IFIs, and expanding corporate engagement will be critical to ensuring that LGBTQ+ global rights remain a key component of American foreign policy in the years ahead. Who is having this conversation?
Fabrice Houdart taught “sexual orientation, gender identity, and international development” at Georgetown University and Columbia University. He worked on the topic at the World Bank [2001-2016] and OHCHR at the United Nations [2016-2020]. He co-founded Koppa in 2023.