In 2017, when now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio was a senator from Florida, he posted this on social media about the United States Agency for International Development: “Foreign Aid is not charity. We must make sure it is well spent, but it is less than 1 percent of budget & critical to our national security.”
Today, Rubio is decimating the same program he defended eight years ago. He has threatened to slash its budget and even abolish USAID, which has operated America’s international relief efforts since 1961.
Rubio was right in 2017, and he is wrong now. But back then, he was an independently elected lawmaker who could actually think for himself. Today, he is a tool and toady of President Trump, who is rampaging through the federal government, demolishing any institution or individual that gets in his way, and doing an enormous amount of damage to our own national interests.
“Trump’s freeze on foreign aid will hurt America,” stated a Washington Post editorial. “All in all, foreign aid is an extraordinarily effective policy tool. Helping eradicate poverty and promote democracy generates goodwill that makes the United States stronger.”
“In a matter of days,” reports The New York Times, “Mr. Trump’s order to freeze nearly all U.S. foreign aid has intensified humanitarian crises and raised profound questions about America’s reliability and global standing.”
The damage comes not just from what Trump is doing, but how he’s doing it. The assault on USAID is led by Elon Musk, who is wielding vast power in the new administration — but with absolutely no accountability.
He’s never faced the voters or been elected to any office. He’s never occupied a post that requires Senate confirmation, so he’s never had to answer questions from lawmakers or win their approval.
“We don’t have a fourth branch of government called Elon Musk,” asserted Rep. Jamie Raskin, one of several Democrats who protested in front of a shuttered USAID headquarters.
“This is a corrupt abuse of power,” added Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. “Elon Musk may get to be dictator of Tesla, and he may try to play dictator here in Washington, D.C., but he doesn’t get to shut down the Agency for International Development.”
Musk’s coup against the agency could well violate the constitutional separation of powers. “USAID was established by an act of Congress, and it can only be disbanded by an act of Congress,” declared Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia.
Foreign aid has long been a target of conservative criticism, and any agency that spends $70 billion annually is going to make some wasteful and foolish decisions. But on balance, this aid has been hugely beneficial to American interests around the world.
Critics like to deride it as a huge chunk of the federal budget when — as Rubio noted in 2017 — it represents only a tiny fraction of total expenditures. “Foreign assistance is one of the more misunderstood items in the federal budget,” notes the Post. “It creates an enormous bang for a relatively small buck.”
The Post summarized that impact: “American aid supports thousands of programs across 204 countries. It provides lifesaving drugs for millions of people afflicted with HIV/AIDS and malaria. It purifies drinking water, helps rid former war zones of leftover land mines, and trains local police to combat human trafficking and the illegal wildlife trade.”
As Rubio once stated, these programs are not just “charity,” they help foster a saner and safer world. Writing in the Post, Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware argued that Trump’s attacks are “dangerous for Americans” and explains: “USAID’s programs, like all our foreign assistance, play a central role in combating extremism, promoting stability and protecting our homeland.”
They provide moral as well as practical benefits. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, whose Somali family was helped by USAID during four years living in a Kenyan refugee camp, put it this way: “When the world interacts with Americans through programs that provide essential need, they get to see the heart and compassion of the American people.”
Foreign aid has long been a potent weapon in America’s worldwide battle for allies and influence. No one is happier about Trump’s tantrums than the high-ranking bureaucrats in Beijing, Moscow and Tehran who know how destructive he’s being and what a gift he’s handing them.
“We have been winning this fight — but we are now abruptly leaving the playing field,” wrote Coons. “Many countries will fall further into China’s orbit. We will face a more hostile world.”
That’s what happens when you act like Trump — basing decisions on ire, not ideas; fantasies, not facts. You make things worse, not better.
Steven Roberts teaches politics and journalism at George Washington University. He can be contacted by email at [email protected].
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