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The Trump administration has already taken it upon itself to gut U.S. foreign aid funding. Now, it’s asking the U.S. Congress to formalize some of the cuts.
Also in today’s edition: The conveyor belt of Trump officials continues.
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Claws out
In U.S. politics, rescission is a wonky way of saying you’re clawing back previously approved but unspent government funds.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been targeting funds he deems wasteful and corrupt since coming into office — with foreign aid directly in his crosshairs. Now, he’s dropped a rescission package on Capitol Hill that, if passed, would codify the billions of dollars in aid cuts that he’s made, my colleague Elissa Miolene reports.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson says the rescission request, which totals $9.4 billion for fiscal 2024 and 2025, will eliminate billions of dollars in “wasteful foreign aid spending” at the State Department and USAID.
“Now, Congress must act,” the U.S. Office of Management and Budget posted on the social media platform X. “They have 45 days to codify these massive cuts to woke, wasteful, and weaponized spending via a simple majority vote.”
It seems that Johnson has enough Republican votes to get the package over the finish line in the House — but to pass, the rescission package also needs approval from the Senate.
Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, promptly pushed back. “[Trump] wants us to rip away lifesaving humanitarian aid, slash PEPFAR and other efforts to combat infectious diseases, and gut programs that enhance U.S. competitiveness, support American business, and counter the Chinese government’s influence,” she said in a statement. “No way.”
Republicans, however, control the Senate, though it remains to be seen if the sweeping package, which would deeply slash U.S. aid programs, will pass muster. Here’s a sampling of what’s on the chopping block:
• USAID’s fund to support countries’ economic development would lose nearly half its approved funding, a clawback of $1.7 billion out of $3.6 billion for fiscal year 2025.
• The State Department’s migration and refugee assistance fund would see $800 million of its already-appropriated $3.2 billion wiped out.
• And USAID’s international disaster assistance fund, which focuses on humanitarian response, is slated to lose nearly $500 million of $4 billion.
Read: Trump’s $9.4B rescission package targets ‘woke’ and ‘wasteful’ aid
Notable departure
Tim Meisburger, a controversial Trump appointee who headed USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, has left the agency, telling staff last week that he would be transitioning to “a new position” with the U.S. Peace Corps, Elissa reports.
Meisburger has been at the helm of BHA, as USAID was dismantled — and for a while, it was one of the last offices standing.
But last month, what little was left of BHA was transferred to the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, which is now being “substantially reorganized” to subsume humanitarian functions.
It’s unclear what plans Meisburger, himself a former Peace Corps volunteer, might have for the agency, which is potentially facing its own cuts and restructuring.
But in the meantime, he was quite effusive in his praise of USAID workers.
“I know that my time here has been a time of turmoil, and I didn’t get the chance to get to know many of you, but I want to close out my short period with you by stating how much I admire you,” Meisburger wrote in an internal email to staff. “Your quiet competence and professionalism in the midst of a hurricane not of your own making is astonishing, but perhaps should not be, given your calling.”
“When times were difficult for me, I looked to you for the inspiration I needed to press on,” Meisburger continued. “I wish you the best now, and in your future endeavors.”
Read: USAID's humanitarian head departs the agency for Peace Corps
Notable arrival
Controversy, concern, and questions seem to trail many Trump appointees when they join an organization. Will it be a boon to the organization, or a wrecking ball?
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is the latest such enigma.
The president’s requested budget would zero out U.S. contributions to Gavi. But shortly before it was sent to Congress, the White House nominated Mark Kevin Lloyd to join Gavi’s 28-member board, my colleague Sara Jerving reports.
Among the questions this raises: Why send someone to an organization you’re stripping of money?
For now, that question remains unanswered. In the meantime, however, Lloyd carries some interesting baggage.
Currently, the assistant to the administrator for the Bureau of Conflict Prevention and Stabilization and assistant to the administrator for global health at USAID, Lloyd worked in the first Trump administration as the agency’s senior adviser for international religious freedom. At the time, seven Democratic members of Congress wrote that Lloyd “demonstrated a historical pattern of prejudice against the Islamic faith and the Muslim population.”
More recently, some of Lloyd’s social media posts have focused on criticisms of abortion, opposition to LGBTQ+ rights, support for increasing deportations of “illegal aliens,” and a comparison of U.S. Democrats to Nazis.
Beyond Gavi, the budget request slashes global health programs that have long received American support, including family planning, reproductive health, neglected tropical diseases, and nonemergency nutrition.
Read: Trump administration official Mark Kevin Lloyd joins Gavi board
Read more: Trump budget request and rescission plan slashes global health funding
Dangerous mix
The U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to deliver food to Palestinians has been riddled with controversy over its short lifespan, including accusations of the Israeli military firing on Palestinians, allegedly killing dozens.
That’s why humanitarian aid and military operations don’t mix, argues Alexander Smith, a former USAID senior adviser with over 20 years of experience in global health, human rights, and international law.
“Blurring the lines between humanitarian aid and military operations, as is currently happening in Gaza, is not only illegal and unethical — it is also deeply ineffective, harmful, and puts civilians and aid workers at greater risk,” he writes in an opinion piece for Devex.
He accuses the GHF of being a “militarized, opaque, and ethically compromised aid system. From the outset, it was clear for many of us in the humanitarian sector that this model would undermine humanitarian principles, force mass displacement, and endanger civilians.”
That’s why neutral humanitarian groups, not armed security contractors, are needed, he adds. Otherwise, Smith predicts more death and suffering.
“Effective aid distribution requires local knowledge, credibility with communities, coordination with local groups, and expertise in logistics, mapping, and urgent health and supply needs. Just as I wouldn’t know how to operate field artillery, armed security contractors likely lack the training for effective aid delivery.”
Opinion: Why we don’t mix humanitarian aid with military operations
Forecast: Gloomy
The United Kingdom had previously announced a £500 million reduction in this year’s aid budget as it prepares for much deeper cuts in the coming years. But in a Parliamentary hearing yesterday, U.K. development minister Jenny Chapman admitted that the budget estimates for this year have had to be juggled again in order to create breathing room — which includes a switch of £480 million from the “core multilateral programs” budget to that of FCDO’s development finance institution, British International Investment.
Things also don’t look promising for the U.K.’s 2019 commitment to spend £11.6 billion on climate finance, as Chapman declined to confirm the government would stand by its promise — and said searching for any new climate funding would “be pretty fruitless if I’m completely honest with you.”
Read: UK changes this year's aid spend again with new estimates
Related: 8 questions we still have about the future of UK aid (Pro)
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In other news
A U.N. convoy was hit Monday night on its way to deliver aid to El Fasher in Darfur, Sudan, killing five humanitarian workers. [The Telegraph]
The controversial Gaza Humanitarian Fund says it is pausing operations on Wednesday for “improvement works,” while Israeli authorities prohibit traveling to aid distribution centers as roads are considered “combat zones.” [BBC]
The World Bank has committed $1 billion to resume the next phase of the construction of the Grand Inga hydropower complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [Bloomberg]
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About the author
Anna Gawel
Anna Gawel is the Managing Editor of Devex. She previously worked as the managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, the flagship publication of D.C.’s diplomatic community. She’s had hundreds of articles published on world affairs, U.S. foreign policy, politics, security, trade, travel and the arts on topics ranging from the impact of State Department budget cuts to Caribbean efforts to fight climate change. She was also a broadcast producer and digital editor at WTOP News and host of the Global 360 podcast. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Maryland in College Park.
