After Donald Trump’s shock victory in the 2016 presidential election, the U.S. development community was rife with speculation about what an administration vowing to put “America first” would mean for U.S. foreign aid programs.
Some predicted Trump would seek to eliminate USAID altogether. Others expected he would commandeer U.S. foreign aid programs for military goals like fighting terrorism.
All of the commentary had one thing in common: A lack of concrete information. Trump was an insurgent candidate, and on granular policy issues such as foreign assistance, there was no way of knowing what he might do.