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.”
About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
