Imagine pouring blood, sweat, and tears into building up an organization, only to see it torn down in the span of a few months. There seems to be little doubt that U.S. President Donald Trump’s elimination of USAID was a personal, painful blow for two former administrators, who recently made their feelings abundantly clear on the matter.
Also in today’s edition: The latest from the 78th World Health Assembly.
‘Cowardice,’ ‘ignorance,’ and ‘hate’
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During her time as USAID administrator, Samantha Power was generally restrained and well-scripted. Even after Trump blew up the agency, she avoided the kind of no-holds-barred attacks that other USAID supporters launched.
It appears she’s not holding back quite as much anymore.
“On the one hand, you’ve seen the cowardice of [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio, and of all the members of Congress who have been too afraid to raise their voices to defend the work that they themselves had greatly praised,” Power said. “This cowardice stands in marked contrast to the bravery of the workers of USAID, who put themselves in harm’s way and risked their lives to answer this country’s call.”
Power was joined by fellow former USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios at the Foreign Policy for America Leadership Summit dinner in Washington, D.C., where both laid into the current administration and the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, for their evisceration of foreign aid. Their remarks speak for themselves. Here’s a sampling:
“The people who have dismantled USAID and slandered its workforce have lied,” Power said. “Killing USAID required creating a caricature. This meant defaming the work itself, and defaming the people that the Trump administration worked to purge.”
“Many insults have been thrown at career officers of [US]AID over the last few months, I suppose, to justify the destruction of the agency. These insults are a contemptible lie,” Natsios said. “Blaming foreign aid for the paralysis in Washington is a smokescreen to avoid reality.”
Read: Samantha Power attacks 'cowardice' of Rubio and ‘ignorance’ of DOGE
Third degree
Power isn’t the only one on the Rubio warpath. During marathon congressional hearings yesterday, Democrats accused Trump’s secretary of state of breaking the law and bearing responsibility for thousands of deaths stemming from the sudden loss of U.S. foreign aid.
Rubio strongly denied those accusations, insisting he was “very proud” of the changes the administration has made to USAID and that he — not billionaire Elon Musk – signed off on every decision.
That prompted a sharp exchange with Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, who cited estimates from Boston University, which at the time of sendout show some 90,000 adults and 190,000 children have died because of the U.S. funding cuts.
“I'll put the responsibility with you, since you’re taking credit for it, rather than with Elon Musk,” Merkley said, asking: “How do you accept what you just put forward, that it was your action to cancel these contracts in this fashion, freezing funds, firing individuals, [that] has resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of children?”
Rubio shot back: “That's false. That’s just not true. It assumes a near-total freeze in U.S. foreign aid for HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases. There is not a total freeze.”
The heated back-and-forths stretched on for hours. My colleague Adva Saldinger has a detailed breakdown of Rubio’s testimony and the sparks that flew.
Read: Death, reform, and power — Rubio spars with Senate over USAID cuts
Unbowed Musk
In a fascinating and at-times contentious and awkward interview, Bloomberg’s Mishal Husain grilled billionaire and DOGE top dog Musk at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha yesterday. Between expansive questions about Tesla, Starlink, and Musk’s role in politics, Husain also brought up the defunding of USAID.
Musk was unrepentant and tersely denied the allegations lobbed at him.
“The parts of USAID that were found to be even slightly useful were transferred to the State Department,” he began.
“But many, many times over with USAID and other organizations, when they said, ‘Oh, well, this is going to help, you know, children, or it's going to help some disease eradication or something like that.’ And then when we ask for any evidence whatsoever — I say, ‘Well, please connect us with this group of children so we can talk to them and understand more about their issue’ — we get nothing,” he said, adding that instead “what we find is an enormous amount of fraud and graft.”
Husain pointed out that UNAIDS has said that if the PEPFAR HIV/AIDS initiative is permanently discontinued, there will be another 4 million AIDS-related deaths by 2029.
“Which ones aren't being funded? I'll fix it right now,” Musk replied, referring to allegedly disrupted HIV/AIDS services.
“I'm sure UNAIDS would be delighted if you're able to look at that again,” Husain said.
ICYMI: UNAIDS faces dicey future as US slashes 40% of its budget
Budget boost
At a high-level pledging event during WHA on Tuesday, member states committed an additional $170 million to WHO’s investment round to support its base budget from 2025 to 2028. Earlier that day, countries also approved WHO’s 2026-2027 budget, including an increase in assessed contributions — the mandatory dues paid by member states — adding roughly $180 million to the agency’s budget for the next two years.
With these commitments, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency has now secured more than $2.6 billion, or 60% of its base budget for operating costs for the 2026-2027 biennium.
Tedros also called the increase in assessed contributions a show of commitment and confidence by member states.
“Going forward, I think that’s the kind of funding that will help WHO to be empowered because it's flexible, it's predictable, it's long term, and it's the contribution of each and every member state,” he said.
Read: WHO secures 60% of base budget for the next two years
+ Global health is at a crossroads. Funding freezes, climate change, and workforce shortages are urgent challenges. But AI, digital tech, and new financing models offer solutions. Join the Devex CheckUp team on May 22 as they interview leaders and health innovators to tackle these issues and shape global health’s future! If you’re in town, request an invite to join us in person or register to watch online.
Mad rush for the exits
Not every country was in a charitable mood. The United States, which under Trump withdrew from the World Health Organization — and didn’t even have a delegation at WHA — doubled down on its departure, suggesting others do the same and ditch the global health body.
“We don’t have to suffer the limits of a moribund WHO. Let’s create new institutions or revisit existing institutions that are lean, efficient, transparent, and accountable,” U.S. health secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. said in a video address.
He acknowledged that WHO has done some important work, such as in the eradication of smallpox, but alleged that its priorities “have increasingly reflected the biases and interests of corporate medicine” and that it has “allowed political agendas like pushing harmful gender ideology to hijack its core mission.”
“Global cooperation on health is still critically important to President Trump and myself, but it isn’t working very well under the WHO.”
Read: US still wants global health cooperation, but not through WHO
ICYMI: Trump and the future of the UN (Pro)
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Victory lap
Amid the otherwise tense mood in Geneva, there was a rare moment of celebration. The co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body were met with applause at side events just hours after the pandemic treaty was officially adopted.
At an event hosted by the Geneva Graduate Institute, South Africa’s Precious Matsoso described the past 24 hours as a whirlwind — and admitted she wasn’t sure they’d make it to the finish line.
Across town at a Pandemic Fund event, France’s Anne-Claire Amprou also struck a jubilant tone, declaring: “It’s a great day,” hailing the agreement as “a victory for multilateralism” and “a message of hope and responsibility.”
ICYMI: Landmark pandemic treaty adopted despite pushback by some countries
In other news
The U.S. will redirect $250 million of foreign assistance to fund the repatriation of migrants, including Haitians and Ukrainians. [The Washington Post]
Humanitarian trucks have begun entering Gaza, but aid has yet to be distributed, the U.N. says. [BBC]
By 2030, nearly half a billion adolescents worldwide are expected to be overweight or obese, according to a Lancet report, which also warns about the rising rates of preventable diseases among young people. [The Guardian]
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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.
