International Elon Musk says he and Trump are shutting down USAID

[LeonardoBjj]

World Food Programme to close office in southern Africa after Trump aid cuts​

UN food agency received half its budget from US last year and is accelerating merger plan as a result of funding cuts

The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) is closing its southern Africa office in the wake of the Trump administration’s aid cuts.

In a statement, a spokesperson said the office in Johannesburg would close and the WFP would consolidate its southern and east Africa operations into one regional office in Nairobi, Kenya.

The spokesperson said the UN food agency had launched a long-term plan to streamline its structure in 2023, but as “the donor funding outlook becomes more constrained, we have been compelled to accelerate these efforts”.

The spokesperson said food programmes would continue:
“Our commitment to serving vulnerable communities is as strong as ever, and WFP remains committed to ensuring our operations are as effective and efficient as possible in meeting the needs of those facing hunger.”

The WFP did not say how much funding it had lost from USAid, but it received $4.4bn (£3.5bn) in assistance from the US last year, about half its total annual budget and more than four times the amount given by the second biggest donor, Germany.


The Trump administration said last week it was terminating 90% of USAid’s foreign aid contracts because they did not advance America’s national interests, stopping $60bn in spending on humanitarian projects across the world.

Southern Africa was hit by its worst drought in decades last year, destroying crops and putting 27 million people in danger of hunger, according to the WFP. It made a call for $147m in donations to help some of those in need even before Donald Trump started cutting US foreign aid.

The WFP provides food assistance to more than 150 million people in 120 countries, it says. It won the Nobel peace prize in 2020 and its six leaders since 1992 have been Americans, including current executive director Cindy McCain, the widow of the former US senator John McCain.

Few UN agencies have been specific about the impact of the US aid cuts.

The UN’s International Organization for Migration reportedly has cut 3,000 jobs linked to resettlement in the US, and family planning agency UNFPA has estimated that a number of its operations will be affected.

Many UN aid agencies have said they are still assessing the impact and remain unclear about whether some programmes or projects will benefit from waivers that could allow US donations to continue to flow.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...e-southern-africa-office-after-trump-aid-cuts

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Hundreds of US diplomats decry dismantling of USAid in letter to Rubio​

Officials say slashing of US Department for International Development leaves power vacuum for adversaries

Hundreds of diplomats at the state department and US Agency for International Development have written to the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, protesting against the dismantling of USAid, saying it undermines US leadership and security and leaves power vacuums for China and Russia to fill.

In a cable expected to be filed with the department’s internal “dissent channel”, which allows diplomats to raise concerns about policy anonymously, the diplomats said the Trump administration’s 20 January freeze on almost all foreign aid also endangers American diplomats and forces overseas while putting at risk the lives of millions abroad that depend on US assistance.

More than 700 people have signed on to the letter, a US official speaking on the condition of anonymity said.

“The decision to freeze and terminate foreign aid contracts and assistance awards without any meaningful review jeopardizes our partnerships with key allies, erodes trust, and creates openings for adversaries to expand their influence,” said the cable, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.

The Republican president, pursuing what he has called an “America First” agenda, ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid on his 20 January return to office. The order halted USAid operations around the world, jeopardizing delivery of life-saving food and medical aid, and throwing global humanitarian relief efforts into chaos.


“The freeze on life-saving aid has already caused irreparable harm and suffering to millions of people around the world,” the letter said, adding that despite statements on waivers being issued for life-saving programs, the funding remained shut.

The president tasked billionaire and adviser Elon Musk with dismantling USAid as part of an unprecedented push to shrink the federal government over what both say is wasteful spending and abuse of funds.

“Foreign assistance is not charity. Instead, it is a strategic tool that stabilizes regions, prevents conflict, and advances US interests,” the letter said.

A state department spokesperson, when asked about the cable, said: “We do not comment on leaked internal communication.”

In fiscal year 2023, the United States disbursed $72bn of aid worldwide, on everything from women’s health in conflict zones to access to clean water, HIV/Aids treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work.

Upon evaluating 6,200 multi-year awards, the administration decided to eliminate nearly 5,800 of them worth $54bn in value, a 92% reduction, according to a state department spokesperson. USAid fired or put on administrative leave thousands of staff and contractors.


The cable said the government’s failure to pay outstanding invoices to contractors and implementing partners has severe economic repercussions.

“The resulting financial strain not only undermines confidence in the US government as a reliable partner, it also weakens domestic economic growth at a time of mounting global competition,” the cable said.

Organizations and companies that contract with USAid last month sued the administration, calling the dismantling of the agency unlawful and saying funding had been cut off for existing contracts, including hundreds of millions of dollars for work that is already done.

The US supreme court declined on Wednesday to let the administration withhold payments to foreign aid organizations for work they already performed for the government, upholding a district judge’s order that had called on the administration to promptly release payments to contractors.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/05/diplomats-usaid-letter-rubio

 

[Crazy Source]

Love to see it.

Supreme Court tells Trump to pay out $2 billion to USAID after rejecting his bid to pause spending

High court’s ruling clears the way for nearly $2 billion in foreign aid funding to be released

www.yahoo.com

Bought. Fucking. Time.

 

[BFoe]

"Islamic State will capitalize" after Musk's DOGE shutters USAID

"The decision to cut the operations of USAID … is myopic and will ultimately fuel the grievances that terrorists leverage."

www.newsweek.com

These are actually really bad things.
To the first post, you understand that the work that USAID and other federal organizations do in Africa has economic benefit to us, yes? The African Growth and Opportunity Act's (AGOA) which USAID assists withTrade Capacity Building assistance and worked to promote growth and trade there, both in the import and export sides.

When you are able to control a deadly epidemic, as USAID worked to do in Africa by implementing the PEPFAR program, people are of course healthier, their healthcare systems aren’t overrun, they aren’t as poor, they can build infrastructure, they can become upwardly mobile and more stable, and can become good partners in trade and allies in diplomacy. In the past 20 years, US exports grew 63% and most of that was to developing countries. This doesn’t happen by magic, it’s the result of long-term, multi-faceted strategic investments.

How America’s trade program with Africa bolsters security and peace - Agoa.info - African Growth and Opportunity Act

agoa.info

https://www.aplu.org/wp-content/uploads/how-the-united-states-benefits-from-agricultural-and-food-security-investments-in-developing-countries.pdf

To your second post: when we cut or end these types of initiatives, it very much enables a climate where terrorist groups can take hold. We only have to direct our attention to Israel and Gaza to see how that can turn out, as Hamas’s rise has threatened global security and become an international issue—for years. Same with Hezbollah, and ISIS.

What USAID does isn’t waste; it’s very important for American trade and global security.

 

[Stoic1]

...snipped a whole buncha bullshit...

What USAID does isn’t waste; it’s very important for American trade and global security.

LOL.

I feel like your ISP originates in DC.

 

[BFoe]

LOL.

I feel like your ISP originates in DC.

It originates in Wisconsin You know, where farmers are being hurt by the USAID cut because USAID distributes billions of dollars worth of food per year which they purchase from US farmers.

 

[Mr Holmes]

These are actually really bad things.
To the first post, you understand that the work that USAID and other federal organizations do in Africa has economic benefit to us, yes? The African Growth and Opportunity Act's (AGOA) which USAID assists withTrade Capacity Building assistance and worked to promote growth and trade there, both in the import and export sides.

When you are able to control a deadly epidemic, as USAID worked to do in Africa by implementing the PEPFAR program, people are of course healthier, their healthcare systems aren’t overrun, they aren’t as poor, they can build infrastructure, they can become upwardly mobile and more stable, and can become good partners in trade and allies in diplomacy. In the past 20 years, US exports grew 63% and most of that was to developing countries. This doesn’t happen by magic, it’s the result of long-term, multi-faceted strategic investments.

Thats a pretty big stretch. I'm sure you're familiar with the expression: "correlation doesn't equal causation".

To your second post: when we cut or end these types of initiatives, it very much enables a climate where terrorist groups can take hold. We only have to direct our attention to Israel and Gaza to see how that can turn out, as Hamas’s rise has threatened global security and become an international issue—for years. Same with Hezbollah, and ISIS.

What USAID does isn’t waste; it’s very important for American trade and global security.

Come on, man. USAID didn't prevent Hamas from taking hold. Suggesting it being cut is going to help ISIS is just alarmism being spread from uni-party cronies.

 

[Kingz]

We’ll see what the district judge does now to avoid this going back to the Supreme Court.

If “work”(however that’s defined in this field) is already completed then they should be paid what they are owed but I doubt that is applicable for the full $2 billion so it should be interesting.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Refugees in Kenya’s Kakuma camp clash with police after food supplies cut​

Teargas fired during protest at reduced rations after US aid freeze wipes out half of World Food Programme budget

Kaamil Ahmed

Thousands of refugees clashed with police in a Kenyan refugee camp this week after receiving news that their food allocations would be cut because of funding problems.

The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, confirmed that four refugees and a local government official had been injured when police intervened to stop the protesters at the Kakuma refugee camp on Monday.


Those living in the camp had received a message from the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) confirming that allocations would be cut to 40% of the basic minimum ration.

The camp has 300,000 refugees, mostly from South Sudan but also from Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia.


Aid budgets have been stretched for several years, with the WFP having to cut rations in other emergency zones, but they have been hit further by President Donald Trump’s freeze on US aid spending, which provided more than half of WFP’s funding of $9.7bn (£7.5bn) in 2024.

Protesters in the camp held up signs calling for more food and carried empty cooking pots.

One refugee, Andrew Dafir, received a text telling him his monthly ration would drop from 4kg to 3kg of cereals, while cooking oil and beans had been cut completely, said: “I feel neglected and lost because I have no other way to survive.”

Dafir said what they had been receiving was already very limited after repeated cuts, with the full ration being more than 7kg a month for each person.

A cash payment given to the refugees has increased, from 650 Kenyan shillings (about £4) to 820 shillings to replace the beans and oil no longer included in the rations, but Dafir said the total payment covered barely enough food for a day, let alone for a month.

He said the new level of food aid was not enough to live on, especially for those who did not have any other income to supplement their rations.

He shared a video of scores of people running away from teargas and what sounded like bullets being fired, with a boy being carried away with an injury to his stomach. Dafir said one of his friends was among those hurt.

“I lost my voice, I was so scared,” said Dafir. “We’re being forced to be silent; it seems like no wants to listen to us.”

A group of young refugees based in the camp, Youth Voices in Kakuma, said protesters had spent hours outside the UNHCR offices but when no one came out to listen to their concerns some began trying to climb the fence, prompting the police to step in.

A Kakuma resident named Blax Von, who uploaded videos of the protest on to TikTok, said the tensions had been building for several months, with water supplies being reduced, cash support payments slashed, and refugees required to pay their children’s school fees.

Many of the protesters carried empty pots, while others held signs questioning whether 3kg of cereals was enough. “This is the container they are now using to measure beans and oil and the other one for rice. And this is equivalent for one month for your food,” a South Sudanese refugee, holding an empty cooking pot, told the Associated Press.

“Assume you don’t have another income, it’s only this. Is this enough for you?”

UNHCR said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” about the impact of the cuts. It said “government security personnel in Kakuma intervened to contain the situation. Fortunately, there was no loss of life.

“However, at least four refugees and one local government official sustained injuries. UNHCR cannot confirm the use of live rounds during the demonstrations.”

The Social Justice Centre Working Group, a Kenyan civil society organisation, said: “Brutalising those who flee war, persecution and hunger instead of addressing their cries for food and water is the height of state-sponsored cruelty.”

Kipchumba Murkomen, the cabinet secretary at Kenya’s interior ministry, said on Tuesday that the recent aid cuts had had a “sudden and severe” impact on Kenya’s ability to host 800,000 refugees and asylum seekers.

“With the cut in funding for humanitarian assistance programmes by the developed world, the socioeconomic impact on our country will be unbearable. And yet to turn our backs on the most vulnerable people runs counter to our belief in shared humanity. It’s therefore incumbent on developed countries to shoulder the financial burden as we do our bit,” said Murkomen.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-...ya-protests-cuts-wfp-unhcr-food-aid-us-freeze

 

[idrankyourbeer]

lol president musk and the first felon just got bodied by their own scotus.

 

[Cartiac]

Hundreds of US diplomats decry dismantling of USAid in letter to Rubio​

Officials say slashing of US Department for International Development leaves power vacuum for adversaries

Hundreds of diplomats at the state department and US Agency for International Development have written to the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, protesting against the dismantling of USAid, saying it undermines US leadership and security and leaves power vacuums for China and Russia to fill.

In a cable expected to be filed with the department’s internal “dissent channel”, which allows diplomats to raise concerns about policy anonymously, the diplomats said the Trump administration’s 20 January freeze on almost all foreign aid also endangers American diplomats and forces overseas while putting at risk the lives of millions abroad that depend on US assistance.

More than 700 people have signed on to the letter, a US official speaking on the condition of anonymity said.

“The decision to freeze and terminate foreign aid contracts and assistance awards without any meaningful review jeopardizes our partnerships with key allies, erodes trust, and creates openings for adversaries to expand their influence,” said the cable, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.

The Republican president, pursuing what he has called an “America First” agenda, ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid on his 20 January return to office. The order halted USAid operations around the world, jeopardizing delivery of life-saving food and medical aid, and throwing global humanitarian relief efforts into chaos.


“The freeze on life-saving aid has already caused irreparable harm and suffering to millions of people around the world,” the letter said, adding that despite statements on waivers being issued for life-saving programs, the funding remained shut.

The president tasked billionaire and adviser Elon Musk with dismantling USAid as part of an unprecedented push to shrink the federal government over what both say is wasteful spending and abuse of funds.

“Foreign assistance is not charity. Instead, it is a strategic tool that stabilizes regions, prevents conflict, and advances US interests,” the letter said.

A state department spokesperson, when asked about the cable, said: “We do not comment on leaked internal communication.”

In fiscal year 2023, the United States disbursed $72bn of aid worldwide, on everything from women’s health in conflict zones to access to clean water, HIV/Aids treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work.

Upon evaluating 6,200 multi-year awards, the administration decided to eliminate nearly 5,800 of them worth $54bn in value, a 92% reduction, according to a state department spokesperson. USAid fired or put on administrative leave thousands of staff and contractors.


The cable said the government’s failure to pay outstanding invoices to contractors and implementing partners has severe economic repercussions.

“The resulting financial strain not only undermines confidence in the US government as a reliable partner, it also weakens domestic economic growth at a time of mounting global competition,” the cable said.

Organizations and companies that contract with USAid last month sued the administration, calling the dismantling of the agency unlawful and saying funding had been cut off for existing contracts, including hundreds of millions of dollars for work that is already done.

The US supreme court declined on Wednesday to let the administration withhold payments to foreign aid organizations for work they already performed for the government, upholding a district judge’s order that had called on the administration to promptly release payments to contractors.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/05/diplomats-usaid-letter-rubio

Bill Gates has talked about what he learned about these types of foreign aid projects through his experience with his foundation. The most important lesson was the need to constantly monitor where the funds are going because of how quickly funding for the intended purpose stops going to that purpose.

Now considering how much we are learning about blatant government waste and fraud going completely unchecked, putting a halt on this stuff until we actually have a chance to research where the money is and what we are getting back on that money is very much needed

 

[PhitePhan]

So Israel AND the US were funding Hamas? Damn.

For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces​

The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from.​

For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces

The premier's policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[Andy Capp]

If it doesn't it doesn't. I'm not worried about the past that much tbh. Will see what comes out tho. It would not surprise me

The problem with that is the government is likely spreading slanderous lies and attacking people for disagreeing with them. That doesn't worry you much?

 

[Cajun]

The problem with that is the government is likely spreading slanderous lies and attacking people for disagreeing with them. That doesn't worry you much?

Bruh... this was almost a month ago. Now imma have to go back and read.

 

[BFoe]

Thats a pretty big stretch. I'm sure you're familiar with the expression: "correlation doesn't equal causation".

Come on, man. USAID didn't prevent Hamas from taking hold. Suggesting it being cut is going to help ISIS is just alarmism being spread from uni-party cronies.

“Correlation doesn’t equal causation” seems like a cop out here. These are areas we’ve invested in and the investments are paying off. I read recently that one of these programs—I think it was Fast Track Agriculture but I’d have to double-check—has a return for all countries involved of $6.44 for every dollar spent.
By and large these are great programs with great returns.

But I get it— Dear Leader says they’re bad, so they gotta go.

 

[BFoe]

delete, wrong thread for this post

 

[Berserker13]

conspiracy to commit bodily harm on multiple counts....

 

[Andy Capp]

Bruh... this was almost a month ago. Now imma have to go back and read.

Funny how law enforcement hasn't announced a "sweeping investigation into the accusation" or some shit by now, though, don't you think?

 

[Cajun]

Funny how law enforcement hasn't announced a "sweeping investigation into the accusation" or some shit by now, though, don't you think?

Which accusation?

 

[Andy Capp]

Which accusation?

Allow me to refresh your memory. Please note the bold text.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/michael-shellenberger-usaid-fund/2025/02/06/id/1198050/

The United States Agency for International Development and the CIA funded the 2019 impeachment effort against President Donald Trump, according to investigative journalist Michael Shellenberger.

Shellenberger took to social media Wednesday night to explain his findings.

"USAID's defenders say it's about charity and development in poor nations. It's not. It's a $40 billion driver of regime change abroad. And now the evidence suggests that it, along with the CIA, were behind the 2019 impeachment of Trump — an illegal regime change effort at home," Shellenberger posted on X with an image of his Substack "Public" story.

Shellenberger then posted a video and transcript detailing his findings surrounding the December 2019 impeachment that stemmed from a White House whistleblower claiming Trump abused his powers by withholding military aid to Ukraine in order to dig up dirt on his rival, former President Joe Biden.

The whistleblower claimed to have heard from White House staff that Trump directed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to work with his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to investigate Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

"The whistleblower who triggered the impeachment was a CIA analyst who was first brought into the White House by the Obama administration," Shellenberger said in the interview.

"Reporting by Drop Site News last year revealed that the CIA analyst relied on reporting by a supposedly independent investigative news organization called the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, which appears to have effectively operated as an arm of the United States Agency for International Development, which President Trump has just shut down. The CIA whistleblower complaint cited a long report by OCCRP four times."

The OCCRP report alleged that two Soviet-born Florida businessmen were "key hidden actors behind a plan" by Trump to investigate the Bidens, and the businessman connected Giuliani to two former Ukrainian prosecutors.

In a 2024 documentary by German TV network NDR, a USAID official confirmed that the agency approves OCCRP's "annual work plan" and approves new hires of "key personnel."

French investigative news organization Mediapart, which took part in the documentary, reported that NDR censored the broadcast "after U.S. journalist Drew Sullivan, the co-founder and head of the OCCRP, placed pressure on the NDR management and made false accusations against the broadcaster's journalists involved in the project."

Shellenberger went on to say that Sullivan told NDR that OCCRP had "probably been responsible for five or six countries changing over from one government to another government … and getting prime ministers indicted or thrown out."

"As such, it appears that CIA, USAID, and OCCRP were all involved in the impeachment of President Trump in ways similar to the regime change operations that all three organizations engage in abroad," Shellenberger said. "The difference is that it is highly illegal and even treasonous for CIA, USAID, and its contractors and intermediaries, known as 'cut-outs,' to interfere in U.S. politics this way."

Shellenberger said OCCRP threatened to file a lawsuit against Shellenberger's Public in response to questions sent to the organization, though he added that "neither OCCRP nor anyone else disproved Drop Site's allegations and Drop Site stands by them."

"And the evidence does not support OCCRP's claim of journalistic independence," Shellenberger said