Stephen Hadley and Madeleine Albright team up to ask Congress not to cut foreign aid

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley called on Congress together to convene a national debate about America’s role in the world, warned against isolationism and rejected deep foreign aid cuts recommended in President Donald Trump’s budget.

The budget recommended a 28 percent cut to foreign aid funding, which Albright, who served under former President Bill Clinton, and Hadley, who served under former President George W. Bush, rejected repeatedly during a House Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday. At the same time, Trump is pushing a hefty jump in military spending.

Hadley said they both believed in a need to upgrade and enhance U.S. military capabilities, but that the other parts of the “national security toolkit: diplomacy, trade and investment, development assistance, reconciliation and peacebuilding skills and sound political advice” are also required — particularly in the Middle East.

This article is free to read - just register or sign in

Access news, newsletters, events and more.

Join us