WASHINGTON — Just under three years ago, on May 10, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Mark Green to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Since then, the Trump administration has proposed three massive foreign assistance budget cuts — plus two additional attempts to rescind money that Congress appropriated — slashed aid to Central American countries to stop migration, forced the agency to direct funds to religious groups, thrust USAID into the middle of a standoff with the Venezuelan government, and ordered foreign assistance to focus on America’s “friends and allies.”
While some of those political pressures were more disruptive to the agency’s work than others, USAID is, by most accounts, no worse off today than it was three years ago, and by many accounts, the agency — under Green’s leadership — has managed to move forward despite the headwinds of an administration that regards foreign aid with a mix of ambivalence, apathy, and outright antagonism.