Slashed US Aid Showing Impact, As Congress Codifies Cuts
The Senate early Thursday approved nearly $9 billion in cuts to foreign aid as well as public broadcasting, formalizing a radical overhaul of spending that Trump first imposed with strokes of his pen on taking office nearly six months ago.
US officials confirmed that nearly 500 tons of high-nutrition biscuits, meant to keep alive malnourished children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, were incinerated after they passed their expiration date in a warehouse in Dubai.
Lawmakers of the rival Democratic Party said they had warned about the food in March. Senator Tim Kaine said that the inaction in feeding children "really exposes the soul" of the Trump administration.
Michael Rigas, the deputy secretary of state for management, acknowledged to Kaine that blame lay with the shuttering of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which was merged into the State Department after drastic cuts.
"I think that this was just a casualty of the shutdown of USAID," Rigas said.
The Atlantic magazine, which first reported the episode, said that the United States bought the biscuits near the end of Biden administration for around $800,000 and that the Trump administration's burning of the food was costing taxpayers another $130,000.
For aid workers, the biscuit debacle was just one example of how drastic and sudden cuts have aggravated the impact of the aid shutdown.
Kate Phillips-Barrasso, vice president for global policy and advocacy at Mercy Corps, said that large infrastructure projects were shut down immediately, without regard to how to finish them.
"This really was yanking the rug out, or turning the the spigot off, overnight," she said.
She pointed to the termination of a USAID-backed Mercy Corps project to improve water and sanitation in the turbulent east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Work began in 2020 and was scheduled to end in September 2027.
"Infrastructure projects are not things where 75 percent is ok. It's either done or it's not," she said.
The Republican-led Senate narrowly approved the package, which needs a final green light from the House of Representatives, that, in the words of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, will rescind funding for "$9 billion worth of crap."
The bill includes ending all $437 million the United States would have given to several UN bodies including the children's agency UNICEF and the UN Development Programme. It also pulls $2.5 billion from development assistance.
Under pressure from moderate Republicans, the package backs off from ending PEPFAR, the anti-HIV/AIDS initiative credited with saving 25 million lives since it was launched by former president George W. Bush more than two decades ago.
Republicans and the Trump-launched Department of Government Efficiency, initially led by tycoon Elon Musk, have highlighted spending by USAID on issues that are controversial in the United States, saying it does not serve US interests.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said that the Republicans were getting rid of "egregious abuses."
"We can't fund transgender operas in Peru with US taxpayer dollars," Johnson told reporters, an apparent reference to a US grant under the Biden administration for the staging of an opera in Colombia that featured a transgender protagonist.
The aid cuts come a week after the State Department laid off more than 1,300 employees after Secretary of State Marco Rubio ended or merged several offices, including those on climate change, refugees and human rights.
Rubio called it a "very deliberate step to reorganize the State Department to be more efficient and more focused."
Senate Democrats issued a scathing report that accused the Trump administration of ceding global leadership to China, which has been increasing spending on diplomacy and disseminating its worldview.
The rescissions vote "will be met with cheers in Beijing, which is already celebrating America's retreat from the world under President Trump," said Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
an hour ago
- Int'l Business Times
Airbus First-half Profit Climbs 85% To $1.7 Bn
European aerospace group Airbus posted an 85-percent rise in first-half profit Wednesday to $1.7 billion, even though it delivered fewer commercial planes compared with the same period last year. Citing "persistent engine supply issues" for its popular A320 jets, Airbus said 306 planes had been delivered overall in the first half, down from 323 in the first half of 2024. It said it secured net orders for 402 aircraft in the first half, up from 310 in the same period last year, helping to push revenues up three percent to 29.6 billion euros. The jump in profits to 1.5 billion euros came a year after Airbus reported a 46-percent slump in earnings for the first half of 2024. Operating profit, which analysts often consider a better gauge of underlying business performance, rose 11 percent to 1.6 billion euros. Looking ahead, Airbus said its targets did not exclude the potential impact from the US tariffs being imposed by President Donald Trump, and it still expected to deliver 820 commercial aircraft this year. "On tariffs, the recent political agreement between the EU and the US to revert to a zero-tariff approach for civil aircraft is a welcome development for our industry," chief executive Guillaume Faury said in a statement. At the end of last month, 60 planes were still waiting to receive their engines from CFM, a joint venture between the Safran and GE groups, as well as Pratt & Whitney engines, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said in a press conference call. "In terms of aircraft production and availability, with the exception of the engines for these aircraft, we are actually much further ahead than 306 aircraft at the current stage," said Faury, expressing confidence in meeting the 820 delivery forecast. "We have a credible second-half plan," he added, recalling that in 2018, Airbus delivered 303 planes in the first half but hit 800 for the year as a whole. Airbus's director of commercial aircraft, Christian Scherer, said in June that other aircraft, particularly the wide-body A350, were suffering a backlog due to a toilet shortage. "You can't really build an airplane without a toilet," he quipped ahead of the Paris Air Show, highlighting the fragile state of the sector's supply chain, where a small bottleneck can put at risk ambitious commercial programmes. A year ago, Airbus's half-year net profit plummeted 46 percent due to expenses related to space activities. Responding to a drop in demand for telecommunications satellites, which hit its financial performance, Airbus in October announced 2,500 job cuts in its defence and space division, a figure it revised downwards in December to 2,043. The company's forecast for 2025 remained unchanged as it said it was targeting adjusted operating profit "of approximately 7 billion euros." Airbus said it had already felt the "impact" of 10-percent tariffs in effect since April and was "reassured, but cautious" after the agreement announced Sunday between the United States and the European Union reestablishing a zero-tariff regime for aeronautics. Asked whether President Donald Trump's support for Boeing, its main competitor, could disadvantage Airbus, Faury said: "Knowing that Boeing benefits from this extremely powerful political support, it forces us to be even better." The US behemoth, which has suffered several crises, is now "in a stabilisation phase", according to its CEO, Kelly Ortberg, and reported better-than-expected results on Tuesday.
Int'l Business Times
an hour ago
- Int'l Business Times
Trump Punishes Brazil With Tariffs, Sanctions Over Trial Of Ally Bolsonaro
President Donald Trump ordered massive tariffs on Brazil Wednesday and sanctions against the judge overseeing a trial of his far-right ally Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of attempting a coup in Latin America's biggest economy. The announcement saw Trump make good on a threat to wield American economic might to punish Brazil -- and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in particular -- for what he has termed a "witch hunt" against former president Bolsonaro. Unlike the tariffs Trump is slapping on economies around the world, the measures against Brazil have been framed in openly political terms, sweeping aside centuries-old trade ties and a surplus that Brasilia put at $284 million last year. The moves dramatically increased the pressure on Moraes, who has emerged as one of the most powerful and polarizing people in Brazil -- and a consistent thorn in the far-right's side, after clashing repeatedly with Bolsonaro and others over disinformation. The Brazilian government's "politically motivated persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and prosecution of (Bolsonaro) and thousands of his supporters are serious human rights abuses that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil," the White House said in a fact sheet announcing the tariffs. It also cited Brazil's "unusual and extraordinary policies and actions harming U.S. companies, the free speech rights of U.S. persons, U.S. foreign policy, and the U.S. economy," and singled out Moraes by name. It did not state what date the tariffs would come into effect, but Trump had previously cited August 1. The new duties were announced shortly after the US Treasury slapped sanctions on Moraes, which followed a similar move by the State Department earlier this month. The sanctions provoked a swift and furious response from Brasilia, where Attorney General Jorge Messias slammed them as "arbitrary," "unjustifiable" and "a serious attack on the sovereignty of our country." There was no immediate reaction from Brasilia to the tariffs announcement, but President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had earlier denounced Trump's threats as "unacceptable blackmail." Bolsonaro is on trial for allegedly plotting a coup to stay in power after losing the 2022 election to leftist Lula. He risks up to 40 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors say the plot included a plan to arrest and even assassinate Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and Moraes. Brazil has insisted it will proceed in its prosecution of Bolsonaro, and Trump's intervention in the case has so far improved Lula's popularity, as the Brazilian leader appeals for national unity in the face of US "interference." Both Marco Rubio, America's top diplomat, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued statements Wednesday announcing the new sanctions against Moraes. "Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against US and Brazilian citizens and companies," Bessent said. Rubio, the secretary of state, accused Moraes of "serious human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention involving flagrant denials of fair trial guarantees and infringing on the freedom of expression." Moraes, 56, has played a controversial role in fighting disinformation. He was an omnipresent figure during the polarizing 2022 election campaign, aggressively using his rulings to fight election disinformation on social media. That included blocking the accounts of some prominent conservative figures. Last year, he ordered the shutdown of tech titan Elon Musk's X network in Brazil for 40 days for failing to tackle the spread of disinformation shared mainly by Bolsonaro backers. Bolsonaro has called Moraes a dictator, while his son Eduardo, an MP, had lobbied for US sanctions against the "totalitarian" judge. On Wednesday Eduardo Bolsonaro said the US action was "not about revenge, it's about justice." "Abuses of authority now have global consequences," he wrote on X. Trump's private media company has also sued Moraes over his social media-related orders. The US Treasury cited the Magnitsky Act for the sanctions. It freezes US-based assets and bars travel to the country for foreign officials accused of human rights abuses or corruption.
DW
5 hours ago
- DW
NATO ex-employees accuse the alliance of going DOGE – DW – 07/30/2025
In unusually direct criticism, former NATO insiders say the alliance is being shaped to reflect Donald Trump's priorities. Officials, however, insist the restructuring is independent and overdue. Since NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte forged a consensus on massive spending hikes and flattered the United States president, Donald Trump has developed a newfound appreciation of the alliance. And, as a result, many people at NATO breathed a sigh of relief. But not everyone gave Rutte a hero's welcome. The secretary-general is facing a barrage of criticism, some of it public, over what his team calls an "optimization" of NATO resources. What might in normal times be described as a bureaucratic reshuffle, has created a different impression in the current trans-Atlantic climate. Some observers say Rutte is reconfiguring NATO to please the White House — and are doing so in ways that don't serve the alliance's broader or longer-term interests. Dr. Gerlinde Niehus, who held many positions at NATO over 26 years, has taken the lead in lambasting the changes. She went so far as to say that Rutte is following the controversial Elon Musk-driven downsizing under the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE). "Taking inspiration from the ill-conceived US 'DOGE' exercise, [the reorganization] is largely a sleek ingratiation aligned to US MAGA politics," Niehus wrote in a LinkedIn post, opinions which she later confirmed to DW directly. "Under the disguise of 'efficiency,' NATO HQ functions which could become the target of Donald Trump's ire for their presumed 'wokeness' or 'irrelevance' are either downgraded, tucked away or dissolved." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Niehus refers to two changes she finds particularly disturbing: The transfer of the office of NATO's Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security (WPS) out of the secretary-general's office and the merger of the Climate and Energy Security Section with Defence Policy and Planning. She says these actions have been taken to "ensure lower visibility" of these issues. In Washington, DC, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has all but eliminated WPS programs at the Pentagon, and Trump is famously dismissive of efforts to combat climate change. Is it a coincidence that some of NATO's changes seem to mirror White House priorities? A senior NATO official who spoke on condition of anonymity insists the more dangerous security environment, not any single ally, has compelled the reorganization of staff structures. "The secretary-general, like his predecessors, wants to ensure that the NATO Headquarters is organized so that it can function efficiently and effectively," the official told DW, "That is the impetus behind this structural reform, which is not aimed at cutting costs or numbers of staff but at better aligning areas of work." Perhaps the most visible difference will be the shuttering of NATO's Public Diplomacy Division (PDD). This has traditionally housed NATO's press operations; co-sponsorship of projects on issues such as societal resilience, interaction with students and other visiting groups; and general outreach to citizens. Many people in PDD will need to find other positions, while some will see their functions move to other units. The press office will be put directly under the secretary-general and the spokesperson's office. The other division being cut is Executive Management, which covers a range of tasks from recruitment to the internship program to archives. NATO sources say the number of posts being cut is not huge, perhaps 40 overall, because others are being created at the same time. Meanwhile, they say, there are some 300 vacancies. But Niehus, who spent many years in NATO public diplomacy and engagement efforts, still finds the elimination of PDD and reassignment of remaining communications staff hard to fathom at a time when she believes the alliance should be working overtime to "foster informed discussions on NATO and wider defense matters in our societies." She also fears the co-sponsorship grants program, which works with think tanks, universities and other civil society initiatives, "will come to a grinding halt." This takes on added significance with the U.S. government having disbanded its USAID global humanitarian assistance agency, which also helped fund some of these activities and services. But the senior NATO official told DW that the alliance's outreach efforts will not diminish; rather, PDD is "being reshaped into a more focused office of strategic communications." Other changes likewise "all drive toward the same principle — better alignment so that we can deliver on the crucial work of the alliance." NATO sources say the grants program will not be ended, although there may be a temporary pause to allow the bureaucratic changes to take effect. One former US State Department diplomat, given anonymity to discuss their views, agrees with the critics that there are risks to this shake-up if funding or staffing for public outreach is downgraded. Having served in both NATO and European Union public diplomacy posts in Brussels and around the world, this retired official fears the changes seen at both NATO and in the US could further fuel alienation and apathy among the public, both in alliance territory and other parts of the world. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The former official sees that happening in practice, for example, through long-distance conversations held at 5:30 a.m. once a week, as they continue mentoring a colleague posted in Asia. "My mentee told me that in her last conversation with her ambassador, she was considered 'failing' because the newspapers carried more about Australian assistance and Chinese assistance than American assistance," the retired official recounted, referring to the elimination of the USAID presence in this country. "She was 100% blamed for that. How are you supposed to win against the Chinese when we have nothing?" Back at NATO headquarters, regardless of whether it was an official order or not, some employees working in areas such as Women, Peace and Security and Climate have been encouraged not to make these parts of their job particularly visible. Several people have shared their experiences first-hand with this reporter. One prominent advocate on these issues, Hannah Neumann, a German Green member of the European Parliament, said she has similar stories from her NATO contacts. Neumann says she considers this "super frustrating because it doesn't make any sense from a purely scientific, security, political perspective.' However, she also emphasizes that it's essential to ensure that work on these topics keeps going. At present, she said she's been assured that this is happening — even if people have to change offices and keep their heads down to do it.
