What do Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, Mike Johnson, Russel Vought, and Caroline Leavitt have in common? Each has claimed to be a devout Christian, regardless of whether the facts support that assertion. Despite these claims, they have all publicly endorsed policies that lead to the deaths of others. Hegseth has boasted about "lethality" and his capacity to kill. Although he has served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, he has never been credited with killing another person—until now, as he gives orders for others to be killed. Perhaps he is living vicariously through them.
According to a new study published in The Lancet, USAID programs saved over 90 million lives over the past two decades before the Trump administration cut 83% of its programs and moved to shut the agency down. The leading scientific estimate is that more than 14 million people are likely to die prematurely by 2030 as a result of the cuts and shutdown of USAID‑funded programs, if the defunding continues on its current trajectory.
The three individuals most responsible for gutting the USAID programs are Trump, Rubio, and Elon Musk. Musk has never said he’s a Christian, but says he “does believe in God.” God has had things to say about killing (“Thou shalt not kill.”-Exodus 20:13). Do these projected 14 million people not count?
Donald Trump famously said he “could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” Not known to be a biblical scholar, the president probably didn’t read the small print in the Bible that would cover such an action (“He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.”-Exodus 21:12.).
Even the Bible differentiates between murder and killing in wartime. The Bible acknowledges war is a part of human reality.
“A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”-Ecclesiastes 3:8 (KJV)
The Bible commands leaders to seek peace first. I offer a translation of Deuteronomy 20:10–12 (KJV).
Verse 10 — Offer peace first
When Israel approaches a city to attack it, it must first offer terms of peace. The town is given the chance to surrender before any fighting begins.
Verse 11 — Peaceful surrender terms
If the city accepts the peace offer, the people become subject to Israel, serving them rather than being destroyed. This is presented as the humane alternative to war.
Verse 12 — If peace is refused
If the city refuses the peace offer and chooses to fight, then Israel is permitted to lay siege to it — meaning they may proceed with military action.
Coincidentally, Israel is specifically mentioned. It’s true that war was brought to them during the October 7, 2023, surprise attack by Hamas. It’s also true that Israel’s waging of the war has resulted in the purposeful deaths of over 60,000 Palestinians and the wounding of over 145,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. You may choose not to accept those numbers; if not, round down to a number you’re comfortable with. Women and children make up around half of the dead.
Those numbers don’t include the indirect deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UN agencies note that hundreds of Palestinians have died from malnutrition and famine conditions in Gaza. As of September 2025, the WHO reported 361 deaths due to malnutrition, including 130 children. Al Jazeera reported at least 440 deaths from starvation, including 147 children, by August 2025.
What has been the role of Trump, Rubio, and others? The U.S. has repeatedly used its veto at the UN Security Council to block resolutions demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and unrestricted humanitarian aid.
- On 18 September 2025, the U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that demanded an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the lifting of all restrictions on aid, and the release of all hostages.
- All 14 other members of the Council voted in favor; only the U.S. voted against, killing the resolution.
- By late 2024, the U.S. had vetoed Gaza-related ceasefire resolutions multiple times; one analysis notes this was part of a pattern in which the U.S. has used its veto 49 times on Israel‑related resolutions over decades.
Those vetoes shielded Israel from binding international pressure to stop its military operations and to fully open Gaza to aid at a time when famine and mass civilian casualties were widely documented.
During the Gaza war, the U.S. continued to provide Israel with military aid and weapons, under existing aid frameworks and emergency authorizations. The veto power and diplomatic posture described above occurred simultaneously with ongoing U.S. military assistance and political backing, making it harder for other states or institutions to restrain Israel’s conduct. The combination of weapons supply and diplomatic protection made it materially easier for Israel to continue operations that produced tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths, widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, and conditions of starvation.
Jesus taught believers to pray in private, not as a public display. Mike Johnson repeatedly publicized his prayer life for political effect, including posing for photos in the Congressional Prayer Room and showing it off to Fox News and the Associated Press. Johnson claims, “My positions come from the Bible.” Does his Bible allow him to ignore the deaths that will result from taking away healthcare from 24 million people?
Russell Vought is the chief architect of Project 2025. Vought sees the government as an instrument to restore a Christian identity to the nation. His policies are not neutral — they are explicitly tied to a religious mission. Vought views himself as the “keeper of ‘commander’s intent’” in a war to upend the federal bureaucracy. This war‑frame is a hallmark of Christian nationalism:
- Politics is spiritual combat.
- Bureaucracy is an enemy to be conquered.
- The goal is not reform — it is dominion.
In terms of climate and environmental change, Project 2025 is built around aggressive fossil‑fuel expansion, rolling back climate regulations, weakening or constraining the EPA and environmental enforcement, and reframing climate action as a threat to “American energy dominance” rather than a survival issue.
Fossil‑fuel emissions are a leading driver of particulate pollution. Globally, air pollution is linked to millions of premature deaths per year from heart disease, stroke, COPD, lung cancer, and infections. Rolling back clean‑air rules reliably increases hospitalizations and deaths, especially among the poor, elderly, and children. We already see heat waves, floods, and wildfires driving excess deaths. Weakening climate policy now locks in higher warming later, which multiplies the risk of those events.
Climate disruption hits crop yields, fisheries, and water systems, particularly in low‑income countries. That raises the risk of malnutrition and conflict, both of which have clear mortality signatures. I can’t provide a number of deaths Project 2025 is causing, but people are dying.
In domestic health care and poverty, Project 2025’s core themes are shrinking the federal welfare state, especially means‑tested programs. Aggressive work requirements create eligibility barriers for benefits. Vought is using OMB and executive power to slash or constrain Medicaid, SNAP, and other safety‑net programs, and to discipline agencies that try to expand access.
There is strong evidence that Medicaid expansion reduces mortality (especially among low‑income adults) and cuts avoidable deaths from conditions like heart disease and cancer. SNAP and income supports improve birth outcomes, child health, and long‑term survival. When benefits are cut or made harder to access, mortality goes up, particularly for:
- People with chronic illnesses
- Recently unemployed or precarious workers
- Children in very low‑income households
The current debate in Congress about extending subsidies to prevent dramatic increases in insurance rates nibbles around the edge of the problem. Still, no one comes out and says more people will die, and those leading the charge to kill them are the devout Christians.
We will see higher death rates from treatable conditions (diabetes, hypertension, cancers, infections) along with higher infant and maternal mortality among low-income families.
Where does Karoline Leavitt come in? She’s the official spokesperson for the White House and the rationalization of murder. Whether it be killing stranded survivors clinging to a piece of a boat the size of a dining room table, or defending Donald Trump’s call for the execution of political foes. She’s justified the preventable deaths of the former beneficiaries of USAID. She framed USAID spending as “wasteful,” “absurd,” or not something taxpayers should fund. For all the people left to die, if not outright killed by so-called devout Christians, Karoline has said nary a discouraging word.
How do people drape themselves in Christianity while advancing policies that predictably lead to suffering and death? The faith they invoke is built on a teacher who healed the sick, fed the hungry, and lifted the poor — yet somehow it becomes a banner under which hospitals lose funding, families lose care, and entire communities lose the right to breathe clean air or control their own bodies. The contradiction isn’t subtle.
And maybe that’s the point the story has been circling all along: the danger isn’t only in the policies themselves, but in the theology that gets twisted to sanctify them. When leaders claim divine authority for decisions that shorten lives, they aren’t practicing Christianity — they’re weaponizing it. How many more will be sacrificed under the illusion that faith demands it, and what it will take for the country to remember that compassion, not cruelty, is the heart of the gospel they so casually invoke.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium. A