Tell your representatives to protect USAID against Elon Musk's attacks.
Donald Trump and fellow-billionaire Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, are closing USAID, an agency that provides food, clean water, and shelter to people who have lost everything in the wake of natural catastrophe or warfare. A now-deleted page on the agency’s website said, “USAID provides life-saving emergency food assistance to the most vulnerable during times of crisis . . .” People in war-torn areas are already beginning to starve because Elon Musk and Donald Trump cut off USAID programs last week.
USAID has been one of our most effective international instruments of soft power. In addition to providing disaster aid, USAID monitors, protects against, and treats diseases abroad so that they do not spread to the United States. Our government fosters stability through USAID’s social programs in under-developed places, which combats the growth of terrorism and generates enormous goodwill toward our country.
Trump’s destruction of USAID began on Inauguration Day. In a series of illegal actions, he issued an executive order ending civil service protection for thousands of senior career government employees. He froze foreign assistance. Trump then issued a stop-work order at USAID. Musk and his young, inexperienced, and unvetted assistants seized control of USAID computers, accessed sensitive personal data and classified data, and then locked many USAID employees out of their computers and offices. After gutting the agency, they took down web pages through which the agency communicated with its contractors in dangerous regions abroad. Musk crowed on X, “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could gone [sic] to some great parties. Did that instead.”
After gutting the agency, Trump-appointed Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, was given control over USAID, although legally, it is an independent agency. Rubio has delegated daily leadership of the agency to a State Department official, Peter Marocco, who is continuing to dismantle the agency. Congressional Democrats are loudly opposing the shutdown: Congressman Don Beyer led a demonstration in front of the USAID building on Feb. 3. Meanwhile Congressional Republicans continue to while Trump strips them of their constitutional power of the purse.
USAID was established by Congress during the Kennedy administration to better organize and focus the nation’s foreign assistance programs—an essential part of our effort to counter the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In the years since, Democrats have consistently funded USAID and fostered its independence. Until now, Republicans have funded it as well.
USAID funds are less than 1% of the federal budget, yet it is a giant among international aid programs and represents over 40% of the humanitarian programs tracked by the United Nations. The destruction of USAID hurts poor and sick people worldwide and weakens the U.S. in the international arena.
What can you do?
Refuse to just watch this happen. Let your Congressional representatives know that you want them to fight for USAID.
Rep. Don Beyer (VA-08) https://beyer.house.gov/contact/ (202) 225-4376
Sen. Mark Warner https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact 202-224-2023
Sen. Tim Kaine https://www.kaine.senate.gov/contact/share-your-opinion 202-224-4024
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