The Trump administration’s cruel and shortsighted suspension of foreign assistance is devastating those who depend on the lifesaving generosity of the American people. The country’s flagship development agency, the U.S. Agency for International Development, is being shuttered, thousands of U.S. citizens are losing their careers, and hundreds of development organizations administering that assistance are facing an equally existential crisis.
Some development organizations will survive the 90-day aid review process imposed by the Trump administration, even as they are furloughing staff and biding their time, betting that their U.S. government funding eventually will be turned back on. But we know that the vast majority of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex, or LGBTQI+, organizations dedicated to supporting some of the world’s most marginalized and persecuted communities do not share that hope.
In the face of the Trump administration’s 90-day suspension of U.S. foreign aid, we urge mainstream development organizations to remain dedicated to the rights, equality, and inclusion of LGBTQI+ persons, even as the Trump administration tries to turn our communities into the enemies of development.
About the authors
Mark Bromley
Mark Bromley is co-chair of the Council for Global Equality. He helped launch the council in 2008 to encourage a clearer and stronger American voice on international LGBTQI+ human rights concerns. Mark previously served as a foreign policy fellow in the U.S. Senate and as director of external relations at Global Rights. He has testified before Congress and published on human rights and international law issues.
Julie Dorf
Julie Dorf is co-chair of the Council for Global Equality, a coalition of 40 U.S. human rights and LGBTQI+ organizations that come together to advocate for inclusive U.S. foreign policy and development policy. Julie has spent her 30+ year career trailblazing in the global LGBTQI+ rights movement.
