Samantha Power attacks 'cowardice' of Rubio and 'ignorance' of DOGE

For Samantha Power — the former administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development — the past few months have been a study in contrasts. “On the one hand, you’ve seen the cowardice of 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,” said Power, speaking from a stage in Washington, D.C. on Monday night. “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.” There’s also been the “ignorance” of the Department of Government Efficiency — the budget-slashing office led by billionaire Elon Musk — which Power said “refused to examine what USAID was actually doing in the world.” That stood in contrast, she added, to “the curiosity and rigor of the workers of USAID.” “And, we have seen the hostility and hate heaped on the workers of USAID,” said Power. “This stands in marked contrast to the joy, and indeed the love, that USAID workers brought to their labors every single day.” Power was speaking at the Foreign Policy for America Leadership Summit, which gathered hundreds of lawmakers, government officials, and foreign policy experts in the U.S. capital earlier this week. At the summit’s final event, she and Andrew Natsios — who served five years as USAID administrator during the George W. Bush administration — accepted an award on behalf of the USAID workforce, one that commended “extraordinary public service” in the face of the agency’s dismantling. The award came four months after President Donald Trump began his onslaught on U.S. foreign assistance. First, a foreign aid freeze; then, sweeping cancellations of nearly all USAID’s work. And now, most of the agency’s workforce has less than two months before they’re stripped from USAID entirely — the final result of what Musk called “feeding USAID into the wood chipper” earlier this year. “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,” said Natsios, who spoke just before Power on Monday night. “Blaming foreign aid for the paralysis in Washington is a smokescreen to avoid reality.” For months, Natsios has made that clear: he’s spoken to CNN, Politico, and many other news outlets about the “destruction” of USAID, and called the State Department’s new plan to integrate foreign aid into their operations “baloney.” He also testified for USAID at the Republican-leaning House Committee on Foreign Affairs, speaking at a hearing called the USAID Betrayal. “While Elon Musk and the president say they created DOGE to address the budget deficit, that is utter nonsense,” Natsios said. “Foreign aid makes up less than 1% [of the federal budget].” Power — who is headed back to Boston’s Harvard Kennedy School to teach next month — has been less visible on the public stage. While she’s recently spoken on MSNBC and CNN (and published an opinion piece supporting USAID in The New York Times), her voice on USAID’s demise has been quieter. On Monday, though, she joined Natsios in fiercely defending USAID. Natsios’ words were urgent — he was unflinching in his criticism, remarking on both DOGE’s actions and the State Department’s integration plans. Power’s remarks were more restrained, a quieter but no less pointed defense of the institution she once led. “The people who have dismantled USAID and slandered its workforce have lied,” said Power. “Killing USAID required creating a caricature. This meant defaming the work itself, and defaming the people that the Trump administration worked to purge.” It’s something the former administrator knows firsthand, as earlier this year, Musk falsely accused Power’s salary of skyrocketing while she served as USAID administrator under the Biden administration. But Power also spoke about how, in late February, USAID’s workforce was given 15-minute slots to collect their belongings from the agency’s former headquarters. Power showed up outside the building, she said, and saw police “ready to escort them out.” As one woman exited the building, Power remembered how she held up her suitcase. “‘Thirty-five years! That’s what’s in this suitcase right here,’” Power recalled the woman saying. “And over and over again, I heard this: It was never a job. It was never a job. It was never a job.” “Thank you, workers of USAID, near and far, for letting Andrew and me, and Henrietta [Fore] and Raj [Shah] and Gayle [Smith] and Mark [Green] and Peter [McPherson], among hundreds of other political appointees from both parties join you, and learn from you, and take inspiration from you,” she said. “This is not over.”