The deputy head of the U.S. State Department came under fire Wednesday for the Trump administration’s reported failure to prevent the incineration of 500 metric tons of emergency food that have been allowed to expire amid the White House’s foreign aid cuts.
The high-energy biscuits, which have been stored inside a Dubai warehouse and were intended for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan — according to The Atlantic — were enough to feed 1.5 million children for a week and cost roughly $800,000. It will cost another $130,000 to burn the food.
The reports of their imminent expiry and incineration dropped this week just as Michael Rigas, the Trump-appointed deputy secretary of state for management and resources, appeared before Congress to defend the administration’s budget request — and its ongoing overhaul of the State Department. As of July 1, the State Department is responsible for administering U.S. foreign assistance — including food aid — in the wake of USAID’s dismantling. On Friday, Rigas helped oversee the termination of roughly 1,300 State Department officials.
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About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
