The first day that Donald Trump returned to the White House, the president used his inaugural address to make a promise.
“We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also, by the wars that we end. And perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into,” said Trump, speaking from the Capitol rotunda on Jan. 20. “My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.”
But today, the peacebuilding effort created during his first presidency — the Global Fragility Act — is hanging in the balance. The State Department bureau that once spearheaded that act is facing elimination, while the U.S. Agency for International Development, one of the initiative’s key players, has been all but dismantled.