What is the investment thesis for merging the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of State?
That’s the question four panelists tangled with at a Devex Pro briefing on Monday, which centered on the pros, cons, and questions surrounding the Trump administration’s dismantling — and subsequent subsummation — of USAID. Last month, the government told Congress it plans to “abolish” the agency entirely, moving some of its humanitarian, global health, and “limited national security” programs to the State Department.
“That’s not to say all mergers are bad ideas, and many mergers do create lots of great value. But you really have to have, what we would call in the private sector, an investment thesis,” said Richard Crespin, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the CEO of CollaborateUp. “And I don’t quite understand just yet what the investment thesis here is, other than to bring USAID under control.”