USAID former leaders condemned Trump's attempts to dismantle Agency
The White House decision to dismantle USAID violates US legislation (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
A group of former leaders of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has opposed efforts by the Trump administration to dismantle the agency. In a statement, they urged Congress to swiftly protect the agency's statutory role, reports CNN.
The authors and signatories of the statement are Samantha Power, Gayle Smith, Andrew Natsios, J. Brian Atwood and Peter McPherson. They served in the administrations of Biden, Obama, George W. Bush, Clinton, and Reagan, respectively.
In the document released on Wednesday, the five former administrators emphasized that to weaken and even destroy the Agency is to the benefit of neither political party and the detriment of all Americans. They spoke out in defense of USAID employees, who have been subjected to harsh rhetorical attacks from President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
The statement notes that while the authors disagree on some issues, they fully agree that USAID and American foreign aid programs are vital to American interests.
"We wholeheartedly agree that USAID and America’s foreign assistance programs are vital to our interests, that the career men and women of USAID have served each of us well, and that it is the duty of the Administration and Congress to swiftly protect the Agency’s statutory role," the statement reads.
"Failure to maintain the global engagement that foreign aid enables, to honor the men and women of our civilian service as we do those in the military, or weaken and even destroy the Agency is to the benefit of neither political party and the detriment of all Americans," the authors added.
According to the US Congressional Research Service, decisions made by the Trump administration to dismantle the Agency violate the law.
Suspension of US financial aid
Donald Trump and several members of the Republican Party have long criticized the activities of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) during the administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. They believe that the agency's work was a waste of American funds on foreign aid.
After his inauguration, the Trump administration took several steps aimed at dismantling the agency.
On January 21, Trump suspended all US foreign aid programs for 90 days, ordering a review of their alignment with the nation's political goals.
On February 4, Trump appointed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as acting administrator of USAID.
Over the following days, the agency sent thousands of contractors on leave, including those working as diplomats abroad, and blocked their access to critical agency systems.
On Tuesday evening, government officials hired directly by the US began receiving notifications about their leave. Later that evening, the agency informed its staff that all employees hired directly would, with some exceptions, be placed on administrative leave worldwide starting at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, February 7.
