Latest news with #N.E.D.
New York Times
06-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
National Endowment for Democracy Sues Top Trump Aides Over Funding Freeze
The National Endowment for Democracy, a nonprofit that has had bipartisan support over decades for its work promoting democracy abroad, is suing the U.S. government and cabinet officials for withholding $239 million in congressional appropriations. Members of the group's board, which includes current and former Republican and Democratic politicians, said the organization filed the lawsuit on Wednesday afternoon as a last resort because it had been unable to get the State Department to restart the flow of money. The group has had to put about 75 percent of its staff on unpaid leave, and about 1,200 grant recipients have received no money for projects since late January, after President Trump signed an executive order freezing all foreign aid. The group argues that its money from Congress is not foreign aid and does not fall under the purview of the State Department, which manages the transfer of funds, or any other executive branch agency. Withholding the funding, the board members say, is illegal. Peter Roskam, a former Republican congressman from Illinois who chairs the nonprofit, said the board voted on Tuesday to go to court. 'We'd be delighted to learn that this was just an oversight and someone just forgot to hit the send button,' he said in an interview on Wednesday, minutes before the lawsuit was filed. 'But clearly that's not what's going on.' The endowment's plight is emblematic of the colossal shift in foreign policy that is taking place in the second Trump administration, as the president tries to move the government away from overseas democracy and human rights work and toward an approach that eschews alliances in favor of a more transactional and nationalistic approach. Some senior administration officials have adopted language, including phrases once common among progressive critics of the U.S. government, about the downside of American projects that seek to extend influence abroad, calling such programs 'nation-building' and attempts at 'regime change.' Spokespeople for the White House, the State Department and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Elon Musk, the billionaire adviser to Mr. Trump, posted scathing criticism of N.E.D. online last month, saying it was 'RIFE with CORRUPTION!!' 'That evil organization needs to be dissolved,' he wrote, using the same conspiratorial language he has employed to describe the U.S. Agency for International Development, which Mr. Musk has helped dismantle. Representative Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican who is Mr. Trump's pick for ambassador to the United Nations, was on the N.E.D. board until she had to step down to prepare for Senate confirmation for her new job. Senator Todd Young, Republican of Indiana, is currently on the board. Mr. Trump's 'America First' policy has also been brought into sharp relief in recent weeks by his criticism of Ukraine in its fight against Russia; his imposing of tariffs on allies Canada and Mexico; his insistence on taking mineral-rich Greenland from Denmark, another ally; and his decision to cut off almost all foreign aid, which strategists have seen as an important component of American soft power. The grants N.E.D. gives out are focused on promoting democracy, free speech and religious freedoms in more than 100 countries and territories, including ones that the first Trump administration and the Biden administration considered rivals or adversaries like China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba. The grants fund projects such as developing software that allows citizens to access banned websites. Mel Martinez, a former Republican senator representing Florida, said the Trump administration's unwillingness to release funding for organizations that support overseas dissidents was an affront to exiles from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. 'That entire group of people are politically active,' he said. 'Many have been strong supporters of the president.' In Venezuela, for example, grants support independent groups that monitor elections and defend dissidents targeted by the autocratic government. Authoritarian governments, including those of China and Russia, have denounced the work of N.E.D. over many years. The group traces its origins to a speech by President Ronald Reagan to the British Parliament in 1982. He vowed that 'the march of freedom and democracy' would 'leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history.' Congress passed a law establishing N.E.D. the following year. N.E.D. gives funding to several sister nonprofits, notably the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute. Those groups are also ending programs because of the funding freeze. Several Senate allies of Mr. Trump, including Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, sit on the I.R.I. board. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a defendant in the lawsuit, is a former board member. The Republican group's website says it has had to disable its operations to save on expenses, but a page still reminds people to remember the work that it does: 'Dictators are afraid of their own people. Helping citizens have a voice in their country is at the heart of what I.R.I. does.' David Super, a professor who studies administrative law at Georgetown University, said N.E.D.'s case had some similarities to a lawsuit filed by contracting companies for U.S.A.I.D. The Trump administration also froze that agency's funds. In both cases, Mr. Super said, Congress had passed 'clear, mandatory authorizing and appropriations statutes.' Withholding money from N.E.D., he said, 'is clearly violating both laws.'
New York Times
14-02-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Cuts to U.S.-Backed Rights Groups Seen as a Win for China
The nonprofit groups track the imprisonment of Chinese political dissidents and the expansion of state censorship. They speak out for persecuted minority groups like the Uyghurs and Tibetans. And they help sustain attention on Beijing's crackdown of freedoms in Hong Kong. The future of their work is now in question as Elon Musk's government efficiency operation takes aim at an important backer of such groups: the National Endowment for Democracy, or N.E.D., an American nonprofit largely funded by the United States. Several China-focused nonprofits told The New York Times that the endowment had informed them this past week that their funding had been suspended indefinitely. Money distributed to the endowment was no longer being delivered after members of Mr. Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency gained access to the Treasury Department's payment system. The stoppage of N.E.D. funds affects groups all over the world, but activists say the impact on groups focused on China will be especially severe. Such work has become more crucial — and risky — as Xi Jinping, the most powerful Chinese leader in decades, has waged a far-reaching crackdown on civil society and tightened control on information. Across China, scores of activists, lawyers, journalists and intellectuals have been harassed, detained or jailed since Mr. Xi came to power in 2012. In the far-western region of Xinjiang, officials have detained and imprisoned an estimated hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and members of other Muslim ethnic minorities. It is unclear how many organizations have been affected by the cuts to the endowment's funding. The Treasury Department and the endowment, which was allocated $315 million by Congress this year, did not respond to requests for comment. The Department of Government Efficiency could not be reached for comment. The National Endowment for Democracy was established by Congress during the Reagan administration to bolster democracy worldwide. It has long attracted the ire of Beijing, which has accused the group of committing 'evil deeds' by instigating protests and 'colluding with anti-China destabilizing forces' in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. Among the endowment's grantees is China Digital Times, a United States-based website that monitors Chinese internet controls and censorship. It recently exposed a Chinese state-sponsored disinformation campaign targeting Canada's former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, who is running to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The website's founder, Xiao Qiang, said his operations were 'severely disrupted' by the funding suspension, resulting in pay cuts and work-hour reductions for staff. 'We are facing significant financial challenges that threaten our ability to continue our work,' said Mr. Xiao, whose website has been financially supported by the endowment since the site was established in 2013. A representative of the World Uyghur Congress, a group of exiled Uyghurs, which has also seen its N.E.D. funding frozen, said the cuts came at a difficult time for their advocacy work. The group said that the plight of Muslim Uyghurs in China had been overshadowed by other global crises, like the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. And its advocacy efforts have been complicated by Beijing's growing ability to silence its critics abroad by targeting their family members still in the country and pressuring governments to repatriate asylum seekers. The funding was especially important, the group said, because private donors like companies or entrepreneurs with overseas business interests were more vulnerable to Chinese retribution. Some activists had hoped that the Trump administration's appointment of politicians with hawkish views on China was a sign that they would retain support from the United States. They lamented how abruptly the funds were cut. 'We in the China community were initially hopeful and optimistic about this administration because of appointments like Marco Rubio,' Zumretay Arkin, the vice president of the World Uyghur Congress, said about the secretary of state, who has long been critical of Beijing's human rights record. 'We are shocked by how rapidly things have changed in not even a month,' she continued. Li Qiang, the founder of the New York-based China Labor Watch, which seeks to end the forced labor and trafficking of Chinese workers, said he was told on Wednesday that N.E.D. funds to his group would be halted for the first time in the 23 years he has been a grantee of the organization. He said the sweeping way in which Mr. Musk had mobilized people online to attack groups like the National Endowment for Democracy reminded him of political crackdowns in China aimed at consolidating control under a top leader. 'History has proven that this approach ultimately led to chaos in China, resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent people,' Mr. Li said. Chinese nationalist voices, on the other hand, applauded President Trump's and Mr. Musk's moves to cripple the endowment. China has accused it of fomenting all kinds of dissent against Beijing, including the 2019 antigovernment protests in Hong Kong. Beijing said the endowment's support for rights groups there was an attempt at destabilizing the city and weakening Beijing's control over it. (Hong Kong activists have rejected the accusation of foreign meddling as an attempt at belittling their grievances.) 'I'm undoubtedly happy about it, and, hopefully, this cutoff will be long-term instead of temporary,' said Hu Xijin, a retired editor in chief of The Global Times, a Communist Party tabloid, in an interview. Wang Yiwei, the director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University in Beijing, said the dismantling of U.S. foreign aid pointed to a retreat by the United States from the global stage. He said the endowment's work was America's way of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and a waste of taxpayers' money. 'China welcomes this, of course, and so do other countries,' he said.
New York Times
12-02-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
‘Become American, Work Hard, Love Democracy': Dreams Dashed by Trump Orders
The family of four refugees filled seven suitcases for their new life in America. They packed blankets, tin plates, one blade for clearing the land in their future home and one for chopping meat. They left behind what they were not supposed to bring: slingshots, fish paste, traditional medicines from their native Myanmar. But the family never made it to Ohio. Last month, their flights were abruptly canceled. Now with President Trump's order to pause refugee resettlement, even for thousands of those who have gone through the yearslong approval process, they say they have lost hope in ever becoming Americans. 'I don't have an opinion about American politics,' said Saw Steel Wah Doh, a 35-year-old lab technician, who is now back in a refugee camp in Thailand with his wife and two children. 'I want to become American, work hard, love democracy.' The Trump administration's refugee suspension and foreign aid freeze are upending efforts to address one of the world's most dire humanitarian crises. Not too long ago, Myanmar was an icon of democratic reform lauded by the West. Today, four years after the military toppled an elected government, it is an international pariah largely unchecked as it bombs its own civilians. On Wednesday, nongovernmental organizations that promote democracy and provide lifesaving treatment for refugees and people displaced by conflict in Myanmar said they were told that grants from the National Endowment for Democracy had been suspended, effective immediately. The N.E.D. was set up by Congress during the Reagan era to strengthen democracy worldwide. Three representatives of Myanmar-related aid groups said they were told that the N.E.D. has not been able to draw funds from the U.S. Treasury to pay for grants that had already been approved. The N.E.D. stoppage comes two weeks after President Trump's order to freeze most foreign aid, including funds disbursed by the United States Agency for International Development. Myanmar-related programs received about $150 million in pledges from U.S.A.I.D., according to local monitors. The aid money was to be used for benefits including H.I.V. treatment and support for exiled media reporting on Myanmar's civil war. In 2024, Myanmar was the second-most-dangerous and violent place on earth, according to a global conflict monitor. More than 3 million people are now displaced; thousands have been killed. The United States has long offered a legal path to immigration for refugees fleeing persecution, war or other threats to their lives. Mr. Trump's directive has shut the door to Afghan translators who risked their lives for American soldiers and to those fleeing religious persecution. It has also dashed the dreams of people from Myanmar, some of whom escaped persecution decades ago. In Bangladesh, a sprawling tent settlement for Rohingya Muslims expelled from Myanmar constitutes the world's largest refugee camp. Mohammad Islam was supposed to be resettled in the United States on Feb. 13, along with his family. That dream has withered. Mr. Islam, 43, has been a refugee since he was 7, but he speaks fluent English and serves as a teacher in the camps. 'I have never been in a classroom, I only studied in tent shelters,' he said. 'I want my children to learn in a real school, with walls and desks, in the United States.' The 2021 coup, which put Myanmar's generals back in charge, drew bipartisan condemnation in Washington. During Mr. Trump's first term as president, his administration formally labeled the Myanmar military's campaign of violence against the Rohingya a genocide. He also honored religious minorities from Myanmar at the White House. But American support for those fighting Myanmar's junta has never approached the monetary commitment made to Ukraine, Israel or other top aid recipients. In Myanmar's jungles, university students, young professionals and even poets who have taken up arms to oust the generals have expressed frustration at how little international attention their plight garners. In late 2022, President Biden signed into law the BURMA Act, which aims to punish those abusing human rights in the country and to provide assistance to those opposing the junta. (Burma is Myanmar's former name.). Last month, Mr. Trump singled out for elimination a $45 million scholarship program that helps Myanmar students fleeing civil war and hoping to study conflict resolution and peace building. Supported by U.S.A.I.D., the educational fund is called the Development and Inclusive Scholarship Program. 'We also blocked $45 million from diversity scholarships in Burma,' Mr. Trump said, adding, 'you can imagine where that money went.' In a post on X, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency labeled the program a 'DEI scholarship' and said it had been canceled. Mr. Trump has said federal funds should not be used to support diversity, equity and inclusion. 'It feels like they just shut it down because they could,' said Ko Hlwan Paing Thiha, a scholarship recipient. He has been studying for a master's in public policy in Thailand. While opposition militias have pushed the Myanmar military from vast swathes of territory, the junta's forces have exacted revenge on civilians through a brutal aerial campaign and the scattering of land mines in thousands of villages. The military has enforced conscription and is kidnapping young men from the streets to fill its ranks. For the hundreds of Myanmar refugees already cleared to go to the United States, the prospect of an indefinite immigration halt is yet another hardship in lives beset by conflict, poverty and insecurity. Saw Htun Htun said his wife and two daughters are already resettled in Vermont. He is supposed to fly to the United States in late February but said he has little hope the trip will go forward. 'My heart is weak, and I am scared that I will never see my family again,' he said. 'Please pray for me to go to the U.S.' Thinking he was on his way to America, Mr. Steel Wah Doh quit his laboratory job at his refugee camp in Thailand. His father, who also hopes to be resettled in the United States, cannot get the medical checkups he needs for his immigration paperwork because camp clinics have been shut by Mr. Trump's funding freeze. Lifesaving American aid is supposed to be exempted from the spending ban, but health facilities remain closed. Two nonprofit representatives said they have been told that they will need to fund programs themselves before receiving reimbursements from American aid agencies. What constitutes lifesaving aid has not been made clear to them, they said. In the Rohingya refugee camps, health clinics, learning centers and sanitation programs funded by the United States have also shut down. In one of the most densely packed places on earth, sewers are overflowing, posing the threat of disease, residents say. Suffering from heart and kidney disease, Gul Bahar has walked through the muck to an American-funded clinic several times over the past two weeks, only to be turned away. 'I have no hope,' she said. In Lakewood, Ohio, Mr. Steel Wah Doh's cousin, Lay Htoo, 19, said he felt terrible for his relatives who didn't show up as expected. Mr. Htoo was nearly 8 when he and his family moved to the United States. He spoke no English. His father is now a mechanic at a factory that makes gambling materials. Mr. Htoo is studying health at a community college, the first in his family to access higher education. Now an American citizen, Mr. Htoo said he did not vote in last year's elections. Some of the other Myanmar refugees in town, including family friends, he said, support Mr. Trump because they consider him to be a talented businessman. 'To be honest, living in those refugee camps, I remember it, and it's not even 100 percent living,' Mr. Htoo said. 'If I were still stuck there and I knew that other people voted for a guy who overturned my opportunity for a new life, I'd be extremely livid.'
