An exercise in “Republican-only first” — that’s how development expert Daniel Runde said supporters of U.S. foreign aid need to approach the conundrum of salvaging what’s left of that aid.
In other words, in this age of “America First,” start by convincing Republicans of the value of foreign assistance, instead of preaching to the usual suspects who already support it.
“My theory of change is this — we're going to need to have members of Congress who aren't looking to cross President Trump, but to agree with President Trump,” Runde said at an event hosted by the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. “We need to have ideas that emanate from the Republican Party on the Hill. We need Republican staffers and reformist Republican members to take this on. We then need to … bring along the administration, and then we need to bring Democrats in Congress.”
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.
