In just over a week since he won the election, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has wasted little time announcing key members of his administration, including top foreign policy posts.
For U.S. development agencies and their partners, there are still more questions than answers — decisions about foreign aid rarely rise to the top of the presidential transition to-do list. But U.S. aid experts and advocates in touch with Trump’s transition team are already reading his early moves for signals about what to expect from the incoming administration when it comes to U.S. global development policy and funding.
Budget cuts and “efficiency” gains, a narrower foreign aid mandate, supersized anti-abortion policies, a focus on economic growth-led development, greater alignment with national security priorities, and localization all look poised to feature in the next four years, according to experts who spoke at a Devex Pro Live election roundtable this week.