Rally in Support of U.S. Foreign Aid, Wednesday, February 5.
If the attempt to dismantle USAID is not stopped, there may be few left to oppose them when they come…
Retired and former USAID and State colleagues, implementing partners, and friends are organizing to protest at the Capitol on Wednesday, February 5, at 11:30 am. We will meet behind the Capitol on the sidewalk near the visitor’s entrance.
We want to highlight the devastating impact of the administration’s actions on aid recipients and of Congress relinquishing their responsibilities and power to Trump, as well as the damage of the psychological warfare being inflicted on Federal employees.
Related reading:
Meeks, Shaheen, Frankel, Schatz Demand Immediate Action to Address Trump Administration Efforts to Undermine American Soft Power, press release from the House Foreign Affairs Committee | January 31, 2025.
The Path Forward: A Letter to My Constituents, by Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-8) | February 1, 2025.
This is wrong to stop this aid and allow human destress.
He’s allowing it in this country already. Hitler times 2! They are collectively agreeing to commit genocide of the have nots! It’s only just begun! And it’s going global
LOVE OVER HATE…HOPE OVER FEAR
Xander, we can do both, particularly if we do not give tax cuts to billionaires.
Perhaps the fact that the US military has Long told Congress the work done by USAID makes America safer because USAID staff is on the ground talking to people will help you to understand the impact of American aid throughout the world. And when we leave, China will come in.
If we don’t supply aid to certain foreign countries that are beneficial to us, China will fill the gaps. They already have. They will soon be able to live on their soybean crops that they helped with in the rainforest. China currently keeps our farmers afloat by buying soy beans from us.They are helping the Panamanians. When you give aid to a country, you’re able to impose your belief system on them. You’re ideology. Since we have pulled out, China has taken over. Soon there will be a world war. All because you & yours can’t think critically.
the US president can decide to provide foreign aid on a case by case basis if and when it serves our interests in some direct way and even then it needs to be watched carefully to see how much it actually benefits the US the returns on that investment its just common sense blank checks do not make sense no oversight doesnt make sense America first money from American citizens should go to American interests not theories that china will break America by not buying our soybeans
Nope. Only Congress gets to decide how much money the US Government spends and how it is spent. The only say that a president has is the power to veto a bill when it passes in Congress, and even that can be over turned by a 2/3 majority in both houses. That’s it. Once the legislation has been passed and signed into law, any funds appropriated MUST be spent as Congress directed it to be. You should maybe actually read the Constitution that you undoubtedly pretend to revere.
The R.O.I. is in democracy, not money.
Nope, the US President is NOT in fact a Dictator. Congress holds the purse strings. SEPARATION OF POWERS IS CENTRAL to the Constitution. A Balance of Power is what’s kept our Country’s system of government going. US Constitution 3 Branches of
Government Separate and EQUAL
https://images.app.goo.gl/usYT5VXhk9aTRqEY6
A Government OF the PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE…. NOT OLIGARCHS
Xander, The American public wants the US to lead on the world stage. USAID made America a leader on the world stage. See the results of a Wall Street Journal survey at this website:
.
https://www.usglc.org/whatsitworth-2/unga2024/
You are ignorantly short sighted. If Europe or other allies fall to fascism, the whole world is cooked.
Brainlet, congress establishes spending, and by law the president has no jurisdiction blocking spending that has already been approved by congress. Moreover, people without appropriate security clearance and who are not government employees are not legally allowed to access the data of a government agency, nor to threaten employees with violence in order to gain access. These actions are illegal on so many counts.
TRUMP HAS GOT TO GO!
Him and his Nazi friends.
You don’t get it man. Musk isn’t stopping at USAID which he forced his way into Saturday taking over the systems. He’s taking over the U.S. treasury. He is an unelected private citizen from South Africa. His tech boys, one only 19 years old who calls himself “big balls”, have access to your personal information. It’s the biggest security breach in our history. It’s a coup. Why do you think Musk spent 227 billion to get Trump elected?
Less than 1% of the annual budget. Forward thinking leaders realized decades ago that sending this aid is a national security issue as much as a human compassion issue.
Imagine thinking the US government ever gives away money for free.
Do you like being able to export goods and make a profit? A lot of that is because of our aid to developing nations and the way that we can use that as a cudgel to get more favorable business terms. Our “aid” pays us back dividends that are far more than we put in.
And abdicating this role leaves China as the major competitor for those markets. And China has plenty of cash to throw at aid programs.
It’s wild how the people who care so much about this program have no idea how it actually plays out and what the stakes actually are. Educate yourself. Or at least own your ignorance.
1% to foreign aid…. 15% to military spending. They want to save money by cutting the 1% yet increase military by several %. The math doesn’t add up. President Musk and Puppet Trump have to go.
Amen
My thoughts exactly. 5 already arrested in my home town, for aggressive behavior, property damage and throwing frozen water bottles at cars, protesting days before Feb 5th! These people are nuts!
USAID creates good will around the world. It has nothing to do with wars and conflicts.
if billionaires paid ANY taxes we would be able to take address most issues confronting thus US. You think musk, bezos, Zuckerberg would miss a few billion here and there?
You clearly don’t understand what we do overseas. The U.S. is the largest multinational developer. What that means is, we support infrastructure and trade development to help other countries build their economy so they can boost the American GDP. This work is done for America’s interests primarily, but it also boosts foreign economies and gives people who are no different than you, opportunities to have lives of dignity and value. America only has 4.5% of the world’s population, but holds almost a third of the world’s wealth. There’s a reason the dollar is the world dominant currency.
Yes, we also fund foreign conflicts. Some are just and many are unjust, but that’s not what’s being frozen. The Pentagon isn’t losing its funding right now. Your wellbeing is dependent on supporting development abroad because we don’t live in isolation. What happens in the rest of the world affects us too.
Info on permits please
You don’t understand what USAID does.
We need to fight back on what is happening. Protesting not violence. We need to go to the courts for help. Republicans need to stand up against what is happening. Stop thinking about yourselves and get some backbone. I know there are members of the GOP that won’t stand up but I believe there are others that will. Help us save our democracy!!
Yes they do
You just don’t get it. The rich want us fighting so they can continue to bleed the working class dry. These protests are to let the wealthy and corporations they are on notice.
Stop fighting each other and wake up. It only took 33 days for Hitler to turn Germany into a fasciost state. Be brave look to independent media, not any corporate media. Spend some time open your mind before it is too late.
Right now Musk is sitting in our treasury with a handful of his college employees downloading all of the treasuries information. With thumb drives they are going from computer to computer downloading our information. I for one do not want a person who is not a vetted government official, why has he taken over the treasury with a handful of college students.
No FBI clearance, he is an immigrant, he has been speaking at Nazi, Facist conferences and now he has his hands on the purse strings of our country.
$50,000,000 for condoms to Gaza?
If you simply google ‘condoms for gaza fact check’ you will learn nothing supports that claim. Jist believe fox news? It’s not a good strategy. Always fact check trump and his state media. They lie a lot. Thats why fox paid billions for lying for him
Thank you for that ….These people are brainwashed for thr democrats it’s all going to be exposed .USAID is the start of stopping theft in our government
USAID supports veterans, military, social security and other programs in the USA. It’s not just for foreign aid. We need to protect our country.
If we don’t supply aid to certain foreign countries that are beneficial to us, China will fill the gaps. They already have. They will soon be able to live on their soybean crops that they helped with in the rainforest. China currently keeps our farmers afloat by buying soy beans from us.They are helping the Panamanians. When you give aid to a country, you’re able to impose your belief system on them. You’re ideology. Since we have pulled out, China has taken over. Soon there will be a world war. All because you & yours can’t think critically.
I’m in. We have to express our dissatisfaction immediately and loudly.
I do not recall Musk on the ballot. I do not recall a ballot amendment authorizing Congress to abdicate on their Article 1 fiduciary duty. I do not recall F Jimmy Carter flags along school routes in 1980. The 1st Amendment is a right, and all rights should be treated responsibly. I do not recall that being right about something means that being mean is in order. At least be well-intending in your beliefs.
According to Google, “in 2024, the US spent over $500 million on flood relief through the Flood Mitigation Assistance program. This funding was provided to states affected by flooding events, including those hit by hurricanes Helene and Milton.”
1% of our budget is very little to pay to have the world see the USA as a leader and humanitarian. Ok we can see how China will do as the new humanitarian of the world
I will be there with bells on
Trump is destroying our country in plain sight STOP him now
So what I hear you saying is we should tax billionaires, we shouldn’t allow mega corporations to pay no taxes, and then that will make economic space for the less than 1% of GDP that goes to foreign aid. Despite being the wealthiest country in the world, our foreign assistance level (as a percentage of GDP) puts us close to the bottom of all industrialised countries. If you want to be mercantile about it, the countries we assist today will be our economic, political, and counter-terrorism partners tomorrow.
I say that it is time for the democrats to start acting violent and deadly like the republicans and MAGAMaggots!!!!! Stop acting nice and protesting peacefully. Use your 2A like Kyle Rittenhouse. Destroy Gov property. No more nice guys.
Please don’t. Violence isn’t an effective strategy. Please be an angelic troublemaker.
To date, there are only two contagious diseases that have been globally eradicated, smallpox in humans and rinderpest in cattle, both done with assistance from the U.S.A.I.D. Both of these diseases were capable of creating widespread epidemics and, in the past, had done so. I should know, as I led the effort to develop a heat-stable rinderpest vaccine that was used to quelch the last threatening remnants of the virus in some of Africa’s most remote regions. AID currently has projects to monitor for new contagious disease agents like covidvirus. To think that we don’t benefit from foreign aid is simply to be uninformed.
To date, there are only two contagious diseases that have been globally eradicated, smallpox in humans and rinderpest in cattle, both done with assistance from the U.S.A.I.D. Both of these diseases were capable of creating widespread epidemics and, in the past, had done so. I should know, as I led the effort to develop a heat-stable rinderpest vaccine that was used to quelch the last threatening remnants of the virus in some of Africa’s most remote regions. AID currently has projects to monitor for new contagious disease agents like the virus of covid-19. To think that we don’t benefit from foreign aid is simply to be uninformed.
Fuck you
Fuck ur mama
No a$$hole, we don’t want a billionaire helping himself to OUR tax dollars and working outside the US Constitution. Move to Russia if you refer oligarchs running your life. F-U from the bottom of my heart.
It must be done legally!
Apparently you enjoy starving kids. Why dont the billionaires fund the programs. Problem solved
I think Bloomberg is stepping in to fund the US commitment to the Paris Climate Accords. The super-rich stepping in to fill the funding holes is a good idea. The Gates Foundation and Mackenzie Scott continue to route their billions to improving society here and abroad. I think I saw that Reed Hastings made a big donation to help with the LA wildfires. The wealthy can be a great source of relief, and we should welcome them to the endeavor.
Usa aid has zero to do with funding wars. It provides food and medicine. Further supporting ukraine and feeding starving people is not only the moral thing to do, it is also in our own national security interests. China and russia aren’t our friends if you didn’t know. Apparently magas only care about what directly affects them which is so nice of them but this actually does and will affect you
All they about is eggs prices going up. Ok they are up a lot. Who’s to blame TRUMP UR GOD FATHER. GAS IS HOING UP TOO. THRY SRE WORRIED ABOUT Tariffs. They better be concerned about this bird flu, and this tuberculosis outbreak. JFK nutty butt will cause millions to die
They obviously don’t have any intention of helping citizens of the US. Cutting off funding for VA, Head Start, WIC, SNAP, Meals on Wheels, Medicaid, raising the price of prescription drugs etc is part of their ultimate goal to enable billionaires and corporations to enjoy more tax cuts. This administration cares nothing for poor and middle class in this country. Cutting off humanitarian aid to what Trump has referred to as “shit hole” countries just gives them more room to cut those taxes. So whine all you want about sending money to impoverished starving people but do not equate that with taking it away from the starving and impoverished in this country because that is not the plan. Cruelty is and has always been the point.
Trump and Musk have just begun their takeover of our government in violation of our laws and our Constitution. We are in a crisis as deep as January 6.
With regard to USAID, it’s vital we use our financial power for good in the world to save and improve lives as well as build and support allies.
We are not alone on this planet. We have rivals and enemies. That’s why we have alliances, such as NATO.
This agency has helped the people suffering from war and oppression. The people of Ukraine, for instance.
As,well, China and Russia want us to leave the world stage to them. They want to control resources and lives. Trump and Musk are doing their bidding, whether they knows it or not. The scary thing is, I think they know it.
I’ll be there at the rally. As Benjamin Franklin said, “we must all hang together or, assuredly, we will all hang separately.”
Trump’s rodomontades make brains remaining Mussolini-like ooze from plastic thimbles.
I have first hand experience with USAID programs in Africa. Years ago as a Peace Corp volunteer I worked with local people to build schools in isolated villages. These places were among the poorest of the poor in West Africa. People typically living on about $1 per day. They had one room schools of mud and thatch if they existed at all. We built permanent schools together. The village provided the labor and a mason. Peace Corp provided coordination, USAID provided money for cement, wood framing, rebar, roofing, the Dutch volunteer service provided food to support the effort on community work days. This effort, and USAID’s contributions, built both schools for thousands of children eager to learn, and good will toward the USA. For those who care, this country, Benin, was a communist leaning dictatorship at the time. It eventually became one of the most stable democracies in Africa. I’d don’t think it is too far a stretch to believe that the schools we built contributed at least in a small way to that change. Challenges remain, but this is a verifiable example of how USAID did good, improved our reputation as a country, and furthered our international goal of promoting democracy. Benin is not a powerful country by itself but it holds a key positions on the continent with ties to both Nigeria and Ghana. It is a key member of ECOWAS the Economic Community for West African States. Simple small actions with even minimal assistance from USAID have had significant and lasting impacts that protect and promote US interests while showing the people of the world that we also care about them on a strictly human level. The actions of Musk and Trump, in abruptly disbanding USAID are made, as always, for their own political and financial benefit. The long term impact will be disastrous to our international influence and the short term impact will simply be hundreds of thousands of lost and stunted lives world wide.
Do your study before you speak I’ll against what Trump is doing USAID has been taken trillions for nothing dealing with helping other countries it’s a big scam going on just using the name to look good on paper….I’m sure they will be exposing all the corruption don’t let USAID being stopped upset u .Americans are sick of all the corruption from all the government offices…
Maybe you should do your study. Exactly how much, where, and by whom were these thefts perpetrated. Before the 1960s, aid given around the world was very loosely monitored, and there probably were abuses. Since then, AID has had a rigorous auditing and project reporting systems and very little money has been wasted. The debate within AID is constant and serious regarding the effectiveness of our support. When I worked in Kenya in the 1970s the per capita GDP was about $180/year; thanks to foreign assistance from many countries since then, the GDP has risen to about $2,000/yr. BTW, ill and I’ll are 2 different words, and your made-up story of massive corruption is repeated ad infinitum by foes of foreign aid.
Go home bot.
U have no brains. U voted for a name who released people who smeared poop on the walls They pissed all over the capital. Some of which were released and started committing more crimes. Trump is a convicted felon, a convicted rapist and a thief. U have poop for brains. Trump said the uneducated and poor put him in office. I can once agree with his hypothesis. I bet you graduated from high school as a D,F student. Only C u got was in PE. Laughing. U put a felon in the highest office of the land. How dumb can u be. lol. Good luck at McDonald’s. Loose.
Stop lying boo. We smart people fact your lies. Ur nose is growing. I guess ur ok with Musky handling ur money. He’s taken the treasury department I’m sure musky and Trump was still millions of billions of dollars from the United States government. When America falls on his face, I guarantee you, Russia, Iran, and China will be walking on America so that’s when you mofo will wake up
Stop lying boo. We smart people fact your lies. Ur nose is growing. I guess ur ok with Musky handling ur money. He’s taken the treasury department I’m sure musky and Trump was still millions of billions of dollars from the United States government. When America falls on his face, I guarantee you, Russia, Iran, and China will be walking on America soil
When I was a USAID contractor overseas, I was required by USAID regulations to source services, goods and supplies from US businesses as much as possible. Most of the salaries we paid were through US banks. Most of the money in my budget never left the US. My project had very little leeway for spending money locally. We could buy gasoline for the two 10-year-old vehicles the project inherited from the USAID motorpool, and pay mechanics to keep them running, things like that. About the only significant project money that went into the local economy were rent payments to house the project’s foreign personnel. When I finished, the project was audited by a major US auditing firm. About the only thing the auditor questioned arose from a salary dispute concerning some of the expert personnel I employed, and that issue was easily resolved – there was no corruption, no criminal spending, as verified by a leading US auditor.
The dismantling of foreign aid sends an intentional message “we do not care about human life, or about relieving human suffering“
It is a direct assault on human life and intends to demoralize and create disenfranchisement of the average American citizen.
This was a fascinating read. I’m always interested in learning about new perspectives, and your article gave me a lot of new information to think about.
Late yesterday (Feb 6), Public Citizen sued Donald Trump for shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)..
The Constitution is clear — Congress created USAID and only Congress can dismantle it. Not MAGA sycophant and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Not President Donald Trump. And definitely not the unelected Elon Musk.
Public Citizen is representing the American Foreign Service Association and American Federation of Government Employees in this case, with co-counsel at Democracy Forward.
Our lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction barring Trump, and State Department or Treasury Department officials, from taking any action to dissolve USAID absent congressional authorization. We are also seeking a temporary restraining order — mandating a reversal of the Trump regime’s unlawful actions and a halt to any further steps to dissolve USAID — until the court has resolved our suit.
By the way, we have now filed five lawsuits against the Trump regime (and there are more to come). Here are the other four:
1. We’ve told you about the suit we filed, within moments of Trump being sworn in, challenging the secrecy and structure of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency that is being run by Elon Musk.
2. We also sued over the removal from publicly accessible government websites of a broad range of health-related data and other information used by health professionals to diagnose and treat patients.
3. We’ve been emailing you about the suit we filed earlier this week to block the illegal invasion of privacy being carried out by “DOGE” at the U.S. Treasury Department.
4. And, just this morning, we filed a lawsuit to block “DOGE” from improperly accessing private information at the Department of Education.
There seems to be some confusion: U.S.A.I.D. is not the Peace Corps.
If the attempt to dismantle USAID is not stopped, there may be few left to oppose them when they come for Peace Corps. In particular, the various Executive Orders have shown a blatant disregard for laws that Congress passed to protect Agencies from executive wrath. If courts do not demand the Executive Orders follow the law, dismantling the Peace Corps will be all too easy.
In opposing the Executive Orders dismantling USAID, we are demanding that courts apply the laws that already exist. Those laws protect the Peace Corps also. We need to get our fingers in the dike now. Once the rule of law breaks, it will be too late.
My Mexican compadre, Fernando, once told me, “Everybody gets the government they deserve.”