MUNICH — Despite a federal judge's order blocking the Trump administration's foreign assistance freeze on existing contracts, the attempted dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development could signal the beginning of a broader effort to reshape multiple federal agencies, U.S. Sen. Andy Kim has warned.
"If this plan succeeds for them, this will be the playbook by which they go after the Consumer Protection Bureau, FEMA, the Department of Education, and other things," Kim, a Democrat from New Jersey, told Devex at the Munich Security Conference.
The administration's rapid moves to freeze foreign aid, downsize USAID, and fold it into the State Department have sparked a flurry of legal challenges. While officials insist it’s a “review” of foreign assistance, Kim, a former USAID civil servant, called it something else entirely: “clearly well beyond what is legal.”
About the author
Raj Kumarraj_devex
Raj Kumar is the President and Editor-in-Chief at Devex, the media platform for the global development community. He is a media leader and former humanitarian council chair for the World Economic Forum and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His work has led him to more than 50 countries, where he has had the honor to meet many of the aid workers and development professionals who make up the Devex community. He is the author of the book "The Business of Changing the World," a go-to primer on the ideas, people, and technology disrupting the aid industry.
