http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euz-wXNEvwo
Fmr. Trump Appointee: Closing USAID Is "More Than Dangerous, It Is Deadly"
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Transcript: https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/ampr/date/2025-02-07/segment/01
MATTHEW BARTLETT, FORMER TRUMP APPOINTEE TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT.
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"You would be equally, if not even more naive, to not recognize the everyday miracle that USAID and its staff performed around the world in terms of clean water, sanitation, and certainly one of the most central tenets of American foreign policy over the past 20 years, HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention. So, this is a very, very unsettling notion. We've seen efforts of reform. Scrutiny is welcomed, continuity is critical, but the notion of closing and extinguishing USAID is more than dangerous, it is deadly."
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" I was a Trump appointee at the State Department at PEPFAR in the first administration. We made different choices than the Biden-Harris administration made. Yes, they were run by very progressive individuals, ideologies for the past four years. That is how -- in part, how you know, administrations change. And this is why, when you now come in *****a reasonable governing adult would be in charge, would make reforms, would make government and USAID work, not end it.***** So, again, this is a more than a political prism. This is more than reform. This is highly problematic in terms of the outcomes that are desirable for the United States of America. If you are saying that USAID was problematic in the Biden-Harris years, it is equally, if not even more problematic, to then just end it.
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"I reauthorized PEPFAR -- or helped reauthorize PEPFAR at the State Department through a Republican House, through a Republican Senate, and ***signed into law by President Trump in 2018.*** The world is a better place because of that. ... PEPFAR is implemented by CDC and USAID on the ground. When they are frozen, when monies are frozen, drugs cannot get out, prevention cannot take place. And again, this throws the entire program into peril.
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"AMANPOUR: I want to pick up on a very important aspect of it. And you said, you know, the perception that too much money is being spent by America to serve the underprivileged abroad. But the truth is, as you know from being in the State Department, it's essentially foreign aid. ****A Kaiser Foundation poll found that Americans believe about a third of government spending goes to foreign aid, where the actual number is less than 1 percent.**** *****So, misinformation is right there.***** It's a very small amount, according to a multi trillion-dollar U.S. budget. And as you say, it has served the American, you know, state and the American people very well.
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And let's not forget:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-calls-usaid-tremendous-fraud-wife-daughter-promoted/story?id=118547473
Trump calls USAID a 'tremendous fraud.' His wife and daughter promoted its work.
Melania and Ivanka Trump toured Africa to promote USAID programs. - Feb 6, 2025
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" "We care," Melania Trump declared in 2018 during a visit to Egypt as first lady to promote her partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development. "We care, and we want to show the world that we care, and I've partnered and am working with USAID," she continued. "And that's what I want to share -- that we care." On her four-country jaunt through Africa in 2018 -- her first major solo international trip as first lady -- Melania Trump offered praise for what she described as "successful" USAID programs as she observed them up close.
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"... "When people have opportunities and societies are freer and more educated, we are stronger as the United States," the first lady told ABC News. ...
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"... And the first lady isn't the only Trump who has stood behind USAID's work. In 2019 then-President Trump signed a memorandum launching a new "Women's Global Development and Prosperity" Initiative aimed at empowering women in the developing world. The $50 million fund, known as W-GDP, was developed to be distributed by USAID with an ambitious goal of empowering 50 million women in developing countries by 2025.
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" "We know there's a correlation between gender inequality and conflict, there's tremendous amounts of research. There's a reason today, the president signed WGDP as a national security presidential memorandum," she said in an interview with ABC News. "It is in our domestic security interests to empower women. ..."
Posted By: coeur-de-lion
some interesting facts are coming out . . . .
Interesting op-ed in the Washington Post. I found a link that’s not behind a paywall. Bottom line, USAID is a long entrenched bureaucracy that often moves counter to presidential foreign policy goals (97% Of Political Contributions From USAID Employees Went To Dems).
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, The Washington Post published an op-ed exposing how Democrats long championed merging the United States Agency for International Development with the State Department before their hypocritical U-turn.
Marc A. Thiessen writes for the Post:
“Shuttering USAID is not some evil MAGA plot. In fact, it was first proposed by a Democrat — Secretary of State Warren Christopher — who tried to close the foreign aid agency during
Thanks to the Helms-Biden law, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has full legal authority over USAID — including the power to serve as acting director, delegate his authority to a subordinate in the State Department, pause foreign aid spending, direct staff not to report to work and move USAID functions into the State Department — all of which he has done. To permanently dismantle USAID requires an act of Congress, but short of that Rubio has broad authority over its operations.
A little more on the USAID related political contributions I mentioned in the post above, with a link for those who want to do a deep dive.
In the 2024 election cycle, USAID staff made a total of $406,790 in political contributions, according to data collected on OpenSecrets. More than half of that, $241,079, went to the former Vice President Kamala Harris. Only $999 — a quarter of a percent — went to President Donald Trump.
In all, just over $377,000, or 97%, went to Democrats, while just $12,704 went to Republicans
There is data and there is interpretation of that data. I'm not double checking your numbers (data), below.
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But first ... many Rep voters split their ticket and voted for many Rep candidates (Sen, House, governor, ...) but did NOT vote for Trump. THAT and Trump's grifting off of his "campaign" donations could explain the low amount going directly to Trump ($999 out of $12,704).
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But second ...
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The Peace Corps was created by JFK. Who do you think joined the Peace Corps? Stuffed shirt Republicans going to Wall Street and big law firms for big bucks or idealistic Dem-leaning youth embracing World Peace and having the opportunity to help others around the world? If they had any money left over from their meager stipends, Peace Corps members probably would have donated more to Dems than to Reps.
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What kind of people would apply for jobs at USAID? Idealistic Dem-leaning people wanting to help and aid people throughout the world or greedy capitalistic people looking to become millionaires by churning investment accounts before their 25th birthday?
Posted By: cks175
Re: Clinton’s SECSTATE Warren Christopher Tried To Shut Down USAID
A little more on the USAID related political contributions I mentioned in the post above, with a link for those who want to do a deep dive.
In the 2024 election cycle, USAID staff made a total of $406,790 in political contributions, according to data collected on OpenSecrets. More than half of that, $241,079, went to the former Vice President Kamala Harris. Only $999 — a quarter of a percent — went to President Donald Trump.
In all, just over $377,000, or 97%, went to Democrats, while just $12,704 went to Republicans
I will agree that numbers don't lie. TRUMP LIES.
99.25% of donations went to other than Trump. Kudos (I guess?) to Imp for attempting to put lipstick on a pig. But on closer look, his attempt at analysis of that glaring fact falls short.
He deduces that the variance in total Republican donations (~$12K) to Trump donations (~$1K) is due to Republican ticket splitting.
But first ... many Rep voters split their ticket and voted for many Rep candidates (Sen, House, governor, ...) but did NOT vote for Trump.
First off, the phenomenon of ticket splitting played out on the Dem side this cycle. Trump won every swing state but Dem senators were reelected in virtually every swing state.
The more likely conclusion is that a majority of the Republican donations (~87%) were Never Trump Reps donating to candidates like Nikki Haley, Adam Kinsinger and Liz Cheney.
Imp then dives into the makeup of the USAID workforce with an interesting “they are Peace Corps types” theory.
Far from it. The Peace Corps gets do-gooder volunteers. USAID gets bureaucrats who administer programs: grant managers, economists, HR specialists and a good chunk of CIA agents who park there. And 97% of those who contributed sent their hard earned (pun intended) money to Democrats. USAID isn’t/wasn’t a collection of noble minded public servants, it was the poster boy for the Deep State.
Misleading subject line.
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From your own source (WaPo), the 1995 PROPOSAL -- not an illegal unilateral destructive action -- was to MERGE three agencies into the State Dept.. "Shuttering USAID ***IS*** -- uniquely -- some evil MAGA plot." in the way it was done, with false claims and misleading data.
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"In 1995, Christopher proposed a plan to eliminate three independent foreign policy agencies — USAID, the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) — and *****merge them into a “super State Department [Agency].”***** In a 15-page single-spaced memo, his State Department declared “the current organizational structures and activities of the department and other foreign affairs agencies … are increasingly redundant, bloated and unresponsive to policy makers.” It even produced an organizational chart showing the *****three abolished agencies absorbed into a new “Consolidated Department of International Relations.”*****
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From your own source (WaPo), NON-MAGA Reps wanted to keep or improve USAID so it could continue its mission.
"Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (R-North Carolina), got involved. In a Feb. 14, 1995, Post op-ed headlined “Christopher Is Right,” Helms declared he would not allow the Clinton administration to shelve “the most thoughtful reorganization of U.S. foreign affairs institutions since World War II.” ... Helms put forward a plan of his own to merge the three agencies into the State Department. ..." [NOT to tear down and destroy USAID without any plan or vision to continue its basic mission.]
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"To permanently dismantle USAID ****requires an act of Congress,**** but short of that Rubio has broad authority over its operations. ..."
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The rest of the WaPo OpEd says that some gov agencies need "to spend [their budgets], as the statute says, in alignment with the policy directives that they get from the secretary of state, the National Security Council and the president.” This is what happens when somewhat NORMAL ADULTS are involved in Admin transitions: shift aid resources from Project A to Project B, etc..
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President Musk is accustomed to being the sole boss of his empires and being answerable to no one (not even his Boards of Directors who kowtow to him). Tesla Board approved $55B Pay package for Musk over shareholder objections. Twitter? Across the board firings. Tesla workers want to join the UAW labor union? Fire the agitators!
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http://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-and-musk-discussed-firing-striking-workers-the-uaw-is-now-seeking-an-nlrb-investigation
"Trump praised Musk for firing workers who went on strike. The UAW contends this could intimidate workers for the Trump campaign or at Tesla who might want to join a union. “You’re the greatest cutter,” Trump told Musk. “I look at what you do. You walk in and say, ‘You want to quit?’ I won’t mention the name of the company but they go on strike and you say, ’That’s OK. You’re all gone.'” ..."
Posted By: cks175
Re: Clinton’s SECSTATE Warren Christopher Tried To Shut Down USAID
Interesting op-ed in the Washington Post. I found a link that’s not behind a paywall. Bottom line, USAID is a long entrenched bureaucracy that often moves counter to presidential foreign policy goals (97% Of Political Contributions From USAID Employees Went To Dems).
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, The Washington Post published an op-ed exposing how Democrats long championed merging the United States Agency for International Development with the State Department before their hypocritical U-turn.
Marc A. Thiessen writes for the Post:
“Shuttering USAID is not some evil MAGA plot. In fact, it was first proposed by a Democrat — Secretary of State Warren Christopher — who tried to close the foreign aid agency during
Thanks to the Helms-Biden law, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has full legal authority over USAID — including the power to serve as acting director, delegate his authority to a subordinate in the State Department, pause foreign aid spending, direct staff not to report to work and move USAID functions into the State Department — all of which he has done. To permanently dismantle USAID requires an act of Congress, but short of that Rubio has broad authority over its operations.
