Trump’s Peace Corps Cuts: A Blow to Pacific Friendship and America’s Global Standing
OPINION | Tonga Independent News | By Melino Maka
For over half a century, the Peace Corps has quietly transformed lives — not through grand infrastructure or billion-dollar aid packages, but through the power of human connection. In Tonga and across the Pacific, Peace Corps volunteers have been teachers, health advocates, and community champions. They’ve lived humbly among us, celebrated our milestones, and shared in our struggles. They’ve become part of our families.
Now, this trusted presence faces unprecedented dismantling under President Donald Trump’s administration. The proposed cuts — gutting staff by up to 80% at headquarters and reducing overseas operations by 25% — represent not just a budget decision, but a direct attack on one of America’s most beloved instruments of diplomacy and development.
Tonga and the Pacific Will Be Hit Hardest
In Tonga, the Peace Corps isn’t a bureaucratic acronym — it’s tangible. It’s the volunteer who taught your cousin English, the one who biked through the village each day to the health clinic, the one who helped locals start small businesses or improve farming techniques. These volunteers have built real relationships in communities often unreachable by larger donor programs.
If these proposed cuts go through, Tonga and countries like it will likely be first on the chopping block. We are small, remote, and politically low-risk to cut. Yet that is precisely why we benefit most from Peace Corps presence — not just because of what they do, but how they do it.
An Agency Under Siege
Internally, the mood is grim. Peace Corps staff have been informed of a “significant restructuring” by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — a unit more associated with slash-and-burn than thoughtful reform. Headquarters staff in Washington — around 800 people — could see reductions of up to 80%, including within recruitment, placement, training, and health safety units.
In-country operations are also under threat. Fewer than 200 overseas staff serve 60 countries, and cuts of 25% could shutter entire programs — especially in the Pacific.
Allison Greene, recently elevated by the Trump administration to serve as interim CEO, tried to calm nerves, telling volunteers that “Peace Corps will remain operational.” But even within that statement lies uncertainty. She assured continued recruitment and service — but omitted mention of how reduced support staff would manage volunteer health, safety, or effectiveness.
As Maricarmen Smith-Martinez, a former volunteer in Costa Rica, noted: “Applicants and invitees are on edge… there is a fear the government will abandon the program mid-service.” In Tonga, where community trust is everything, that kind of uncertainty can undo years of bridge-building.
Cutting the Core While China Advances
The most baffling aspect of this policy is its timing. U.S. officials routinely warn of growing Chinese influence in the Pacific. But instead of bolstering one of America’s most trusted grassroots tools, the Trump administration is pulling it apart.
Representative Joaquin Castro was blunt: “On one hand, they’re saying don’t let China expand influence. On the other hand, they’re gutting the exact programs that foster trust, friendship, and democratic values.”
That hypocrisy is especially painful for countries like Tonga. As China builds roads, wharves, and stadiums, America sends volunteers. The value isn’t in the dollars — it’s in the dignity of peer-to-peer exchange, the kind that Peace Corps embodies. Cutting this program signals a retreat from influence, and worse — a retreat from responsibility.
The Steepest Cuts Hit Recruitment, Health, and Safety
The proposed changes would devastate critical parts of Peace Corps operations:
- Recruitment and Placement: A 70% cut is being considered to the teams responsible for outreach, application screening, and matching volunteers with appropriate countries and roles. This is a complex, labor-intensive process — and without it, the pipeline of new volunteers may dry up entirely.
- Health and HIV Services: These would be merged with the training department and slashed by 80%. This is alarming, particularly in rural and high-risk areas where volunteers rely on this support for safety and effectiveness.
- Training and Oversight: These cuts come as the Peace Corps is still recovering from COVID-19. The pandemic led to a global recall of 7,000 volunteers in 2020. Though numbers are growing again, they’re still at just 50% of pre-COVID levels.
Jonathan Pearson of the National Peace Corps Association describes the moment as “heartbreaking and potentially crippling.” Volunteers are just now returning to their host countries. These cuts could halt that progress — or worse, unravel it.
The Bigger Picture: America’s Soft Power Collapse
What’s most tragic is the long-term damage these decisions will inflict on America’s global standing. Peace Corps is more than development — it’s diplomacy with a human face. As Pearson said, “It is creating goodwill in areas the U.S. would not otherwise reach.”
That’s exactly what we’ve seen in Tonga. And yet, the administration seems determined to prove that goodwill doesn’t matter anymore. That foreign relationships can be traded for slogans like “America First,” no matter the cost to alliances, influence, or integrity.
And the cost is real. As Smith-Martinez pointed out, “Peace Corps is one of the last soft power tools left.” Cuts have already hit the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Institute for Peace. This may be the final nail.
From Kennedy’s Vision to Trump’s Scissors
The Peace Corps was born from a vision of service under President John F. Kennedy. One of its proudest alumni, Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), credits his service in Ethiopia with shaping his career and values. He returned decades later to install computers and internet access.
Now, he’s fighting to increase Peace Corps funding — not shrink it. “We should have 7,000 volunteers,” he said. “Let’s build it back up… it’s more important than another ballistic missile.”
Yet the Trump administration seems committed to the opposite. Garamendi calls it a “fool’s errand” to search for logic in these cuts: “It appears as though they’ve come to the conclusion that there’s too much staff, too many federal employees.”
In other words — ideology over impact.
A Call to Tonga’s Leaders: Don’t Be Silent
If this were just an American debate, perhaps we’d stay quiet. But the Peace Corps is part of our story too. The friendships forged here have shaped lives and opened doors. We owe it to the volunteers — and to future generations — to speak out.
We call on Tonga’s leaders, including Prime Minister Dr. ‘Aisake Eke, to raise this matter diplomatically with the U.S. Embassy and Congress. The Pacific should not be forgotten collateral damage in Washington’s domestic power plays.
Likewise, Pacific Island embassies in D.C. must advocate fiercely for the continuation of this program. The relationships built by Peace Corps matter just as much as major aid packages or infrastructure projects.
Final Thought: Malo ‘aupito, Peace Corps
To every volunteer who has lived in our villages, shared our food, helped our people, and learned our language — malo ‘aupito. Thank you.
Your work here was not in vain.
And if this really is the end of the road for Peace Corps in the Pacific, let it be said clearly: America did not leave because it was no longer needed — it left because it chose to stop caring.
Melino Maka
Political and Economic Commentator – Tonga & Aotearoa
