Ken love like 99% of your takes but I think this is kind of a mid one. Sure USAID is soft power of the American Empire and wildly ineffective. But it’s kind of beside the point. Trump violating laws blatantly to reorganize the federal government is the point, maybe he’s starting with a dumb agency, but asserting illegal control over agencies without resistance is the real problem. At least these dems were doing something!!
"The President is the sole organ of the nation in its external relations, and its sole representative with foreign nations.” According to the constitution the president has the authority to move USAID’s role to be under the power of the state department. Rubio has been confirmed by the Senate. This restructuring is not an illegal move.
No one except Rump/Musk shutters an agency which does so much good and has a few problems. If shuttering was the answer, then Tesla would have been closed long ago for its foul treatment of employees.
The Democratic party can fire all of their "consultants" and instead just subscribe to your newsletter. They'll be smarter, more strategic, and save a ton of money.
Ken, I think we can and should simultaneously point out the illegality of wiping out a Congressionally legislated agency (causing a real constitutional crisis) while noting the important work the agency does and the people this decision hurts (myself included).
No one understands USAID literally at all. That's why talking about it is good, from why the basic premise of helping feed working-class families is a good thing for any internationalist to how little of this funding seriously impacts the US budget. And again, a constitutional crisis *is an important thing to highlight* in any setting, always.
I agree that Dems focus wayyyyyy too much on process and bureaucracy. Regular people don't get this. But that's even more reason to inform the public in simplified ways while still defending an inherently good agency, even if one that needs reform (an often-cited concern of staff in the agency and the implementing partners doing the work).
Right, feeding starving Sudanese or Gazans in a CIA extension. It all just must be a CIA plot, down to the psychosocial support services I've provided to traumatized Syrian refugee women. Even the education programs for poor Jordanian kids is a huge plot - what even is building a school!
Don't speak in absolutist terms if you don't either a) have an interest in an adult convo or b) don't know what you are talking about.
The budget breakdown hardly excuses the fact that it is a massive component of USAID's budget. The US donates more humanitarian aid than any other country. Blanket statements about USAID being CIA does a disservice to that programming, which we should all support.
"Governance" funding also means so much, including anti-corruption campaigns and strengthening bureaucratic processes. I work on a project where we are introducing CMIS into Jordan's Ministry of Education. Is good governance that allows for school infrastructure planning and design, considering things like girls bathrooms, CIA?
People openly admit to not having a clue about this agency, foreign aid, or the people implementing it when they make statements like this. That's the whole point, but what do I know, I just actually work in the space AND do policy analysis on it!
We can and should blame privatization for USAID outsourcing most of its work today, but that hardly means it is "doing nothing." Again, you are simplifying to fit your narrative.
Most people working for implementing partners (IPs) AND USAID staff want to "decolonize aid." This is a common term that accepts our approach isn't perfect and that national security suits and colonial old heads in our industry have led us down the wrong path. Calling all of those folks "career climbing grown ups" shows you simultaneously could give a shit about working class people AND have no clue what you are talking about.
And that, again, doesn't align with the claim that all or most of what USAID does is somehow only information/political work. That's objectively not the case, but it sure is easy for you to make by only looking at top-line numbers. How convenient!
I don't think you understand that most folks working in International Development (ID) or humanitarian work are junior or mid-level staff making well under $60,000 a year while living in a place like DC. That is barely a wage to survive.
Ken literally wrote about people losing their jobs and why the argument should be in support of them. So please, don't tell me to re-read about my sector taking a beating. I know some people want to celebrate all of us losing jobs for trying to support communities overseas, but tempter the giddiness maybe a little.
I've already argued that USAID needs reforms and decolonization. This is a view shared by most of the folks you consider shitty consultants. Again, I'm not interested in lying to you and wouldn't even be on this comment section if I wasn't trying to fight for people I care about doing this work who are *not* trying to hurt anyone or push a government objective.
I won't be sharing any of the contracts I work on given what is happening. I would never put my team at risk like that. You should be able to easily find what I'm talking about on SAM with what I described, should your concern be that it somehow isn't real or falls in the preconceived notion you've already established for this work.
My hope is that you'd at least give me a chance as opposed to assuming I'm lying to you as I'm about to lose my job and income because of this god awful situation, like almost every else I know.
This is what boggles my mind. Trump is a lot of things, but subtle he is not. Nothing he’s done, including the anointing of Musk, should have been a surprise. Democrats should have had a plan in place, especially when his victory seemed inevitable, last summer. Instead of taking vacations and three day weekends, they should have been working around the clock. Schumer is more concerned with the price of Super Bowl snacks than the hijacking of the computers that manage the personal information of government employees, for example. The Democrats rail against Trump’s nominees in one breath, and vote to confirm them in the next.
Did the Democrats not understand the implications of Trump’s America First policy?
Ken, your writing continues to be void of Red Team and Blue Team agendas, calling out the problems wherever they are. Thank you for being one of the very few I read for real independent journalism. The “yeah but…” comments in this thread seem ignorant to the fact that America is an empire in decline, and what these people do isn’t even secondary to what really matters. I just hope there is a shift towards collective practical problem-solving in meeting our most basic needs soon. None of these “leaders” ideas and actions are in the interest of the people. The denial.
Democrats could learn a lesson from this ordeal. Trump promised these sorts of changes, and he's doing what's necessary to quickly deliver results to his constituents. Elon is acting as a surrogate for Trump. Is that legal? They don't give a fuck if it's legal or not, and they shouldn't. The Republicans wisely did the ground game to get the judiciary into their favor and then they won a democratic election. They have taken the levers of power and are enacting their agenda. I don't like that agenda, but after having "my team" fail to use their power to deliver for so long I can't help but enjoy their victory a little.
You don't have to love USAID to be awfully concerned that whatever savings these vandals extract is not going to be delivered to the American people. The bureaucracy might be where accountability goes to die, but compared to what's happening now, I think we're going to miss it when it's gone.
How about just saying Elon Musk is in there right now, taking over a computers that hold your tax dollars and stealing the money and putting it in the pocket of the rich
Ken, I spoke to all 3 of my federal electeds' offices today (all Dem) to find tone deaf responses, references to their social media and Jeffries' 10 point plan. This is just arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. No one seems moved to action to stop, slow, interrupt, interfere or push back/walk out. What a sickening day. I froze my credit last night.
Thanks for pulling the info on USAID. It helped me understand the landscape better.
As for Sen Murphy's list of things USAID does, how many Federal Agencies do we need to do these things? Chasing China and particularly fighting terrorists seems like mission creep to me. Maybe it was just a poorly worded or intentional extravagant phrasing. As for me, this characterization supports my belief the Federal Government is a vast inefficient unaccountable inscrutable redundancy.
-USAID "supports freedom fighters everywhere in this world,"
-"USAID chases China around the world,"
-"USAID fights terrorist groups all across this world."
Dems are horribly out of touch. Speeches were not compelling, they need to.put fired employees and poor citizens of other countries who will.sicken and die out front. Break things. Speak the names of the Musk 6 ( "You have committed a crime") Don't they understand human appeal?
Ken love like 99% of your takes but I think this is kind of a mid one. Sure USAID is soft power of the American Empire and wildly ineffective. But it’s kind of beside the point. Trump violating laws blatantly to reorganize the federal government is the point, maybe he’s starting with a dumb agency, but asserting illegal control over agencies without resistance is the real problem. At least these dems were doing something!!
"The President is the sole organ of the nation in its external relations, and its sole representative with foreign nations.” According to the constitution the president has the authority to move USAID’s role to be under the power of the state department. Rubio has been confirmed by the Senate. This restructuring is not an illegal move.
No one except Rump/Musk shutters an agency which does so much good and has a few problems. If shuttering was the answer, then Tesla would have been closed long ago for its foul treatment of employees.
The Democratic party can fire all of their "consultants" and instead just subscribe to your newsletter. They'll be smarter, more strategic, and save a ton of money.
They seem to be going another way.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/02/dnc-meeting/681548/
Ken, I think we can and should simultaneously point out the illegality of wiping out a Congressionally legislated agency (causing a real constitutional crisis) while noting the important work the agency does and the people this decision hurts (myself included).
No one understands USAID literally at all. That's why talking about it is good, from why the basic premise of helping feed working-class families is a good thing for any internationalist to how little of this funding seriously impacts the US budget. And again, a constitutional crisis *is an important thing to highlight* in any setting, always.
I agree that Dems focus wayyyyyy too much on process and bureaucracy. Regular people don't get this. But that's even more reason to inform the public in simplified ways while still defending an inherently good agency, even if one that needs reform (an often-cited concern of staff in the agency and the implementing partners doing the work).
“Nobody understands” how great and useful US”aid” is — it is CIA’s extension !!!
Right, feeding starving Sudanese or Gazans in a CIA extension. It all just must be a CIA plot, down to the psychosocial support services I've provided to traumatized Syrian refugee women. Even the education programs for poor Jordanian kids is a huge plot - what even is building a school!
Don't speak in absolutist terms if you don't either a) have an interest in an adult convo or b) don't know what you are talking about.
The budget breakdown hardly excuses the fact that it is a massive component of USAID's budget. The US donates more humanitarian aid than any other country. Blanket statements about USAID being CIA does a disservice to that programming, which we should all support.
"Governance" funding also means so much, including anti-corruption campaigns and strengthening bureaucratic processes. I work on a project where we are introducing CMIS into Jordan's Ministry of Education. Is good governance that allows for school infrastructure planning and design, considering things like girls bathrooms, CIA?
People openly admit to not having a clue about this agency, foreign aid, or the people implementing it when they make statements like this. That's the whole point, but what do I know, I just actually work in the space AND do policy analysis on it!
Alex just loves US imperialism and his CIA alma mater 😂
We can and should blame privatization for USAID outsourcing most of its work today, but that hardly means it is "doing nothing." Again, you are simplifying to fit your narrative.
Most people working for implementing partners (IPs) AND USAID staff want to "decolonize aid." This is a common term that accepts our approach isn't perfect and that national security suits and colonial old heads in our industry have led us down the wrong path. Calling all of those folks "career climbing grown ups" shows you simultaneously could give a shit about working class people AND have no clue what you are talking about.
And that, again, doesn't align with the claim that all or most of what USAID does is somehow only information/political work. That's objectively not the case, but it sure is easy for you to make by only looking at top-line numbers. How convenient!
I don't think you understand that most folks working in International Development (ID) or humanitarian work are junior or mid-level staff making well under $60,000 a year while living in a place like DC. That is barely a wage to survive.
Ken literally wrote about people losing their jobs and why the argument should be in support of them. So please, don't tell me to re-read about my sector taking a beating. I know some people want to celebrate all of us losing jobs for trying to support communities overseas, but tempter the giddiness maybe a little.
I've already argued that USAID needs reforms and decolonization. This is a view shared by most of the folks you consider shitty consultants. Again, I'm not interested in lying to you and wouldn't even be on this comment section if I wasn't trying to fight for people I care about doing this work who are *not* trying to hurt anyone or push a government objective.
I won't be sharing any of the contracts I work on given what is happening. I would never put my team at risk like that. You should be able to easily find what I'm talking about on SAM with what I described, should your concern be that it somehow isn't real or falls in the preconceived notion you've already established for this work.
My hope is that you'd at least give me a chance as opposed to assuming I'm lying to you as I'm about to lose my job and income because of this god awful situation, like almost every else I know.
Democrats getting off their asses only once the CIA front for regime change gets endangered is peak liberal brainrot
This is what boggles my mind. Trump is a lot of things, but subtle he is not. Nothing he’s done, including the anointing of Musk, should have been a surprise. Democrats should have had a plan in place, especially when his victory seemed inevitable, last summer. Instead of taking vacations and three day weekends, they should have been working around the clock. Schumer is more concerned with the price of Super Bowl snacks than the hijacking of the computers that manage the personal information of government employees, for example. The Democrats rail against Trump’s nominees in one breath, and vote to confirm them in the next.
Did the Democrats not understand the implications of Trump’s America First policy?
The bottom line: there is no opposition party.
"Democrats should have had a plan in place, especially when his victory seemed inevitable, last summer."
If they were capable of doing that, Biden wouldn't have been the nominee in the first place and wouldn't have been replaced with Kamala Harris.
This is par for the course.
You’re spot on, Joe. The Democrats are 100 percent responsible for the mess we’re in, imo. They protected Trump instead of indicting him.
Ken, your writing continues to be void of Red Team and Blue Team agendas, calling out the problems wherever they are. Thank you for being one of the very few I read for real independent journalism. The “yeah but…” comments in this thread seem ignorant to the fact that America is an empire in decline, and what these people do isn’t even secondary to what really matters. I just hope there is a shift towards collective practical problem-solving in meeting our most basic needs soon. None of these “leaders” ideas and actions are in the interest of the people. The denial.
Democrats could learn a lesson from this ordeal. Trump promised these sorts of changes, and he's doing what's necessary to quickly deliver results to his constituents. Elon is acting as a surrogate for Trump. Is that legal? They don't give a fuck if it's legal or not, and they shouldn't. The Republicans wisely did the ground game to get the judiciary into their favor and then they won a democratic election. They have taken the levers of power and are enacting their agenda. I don't like that agenda, but after having "my team" fail to use their power to deliver for so long I can't help but enjoy their victory a little.
You’re enjoying this?! Please say more.
I wish I had the kind of optimism to believe that Democrats could possibly learn lessons.
You don't have to love USAID to be awfully concerned that whatever savings these vandals extract is not going to be delivered to the American people. The bureaucracy might be where accountability goes to die, but compared to what's happening now, I think we're going to miss it when it's gone.
Perfect:
"Feeling like Occupy Wall Street reimagined by McKinsey consultants"
That's exactly what the Democratic Party has become.
How about just saying Elon Musk is in there right now, taking over a computers that hold your tax dollars and stealing the money and putting it in the pocket of the rich
And what's worse, planning on installing AI on it!
" USAID "supports freedom fighters everywhere in this world,"
"USAID chases China around the world," and
"USAID fights terrorist groups all across this world.""
Maybe they should rename it to "Team America: World Police" to help get Republican support.
Gerry Connolly sighting! Does this mean six additional weeks of Resistance?
Six weeks cancer free oop!
Ken, I spoke to all 3 of my federal electeds' offices today (all Dem) to find tone deaf responses, references to their social media and Jeffries' 10 point plan. This is just arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. No one seems moved to action to stop, slow, interrupt, interfere or push back/walk out. What a sickening day. I froze my credit last night.
Democrats always bring rubber knives and rule books to machine gun fights. 🤦♀️
Thanks for pulling the info on USAID. It helped me understand the landscape better.
As for Sen Murphy's list of things USAID does, how many Federal Agencies do we need to do these things? Chasing China and particularly fighting terrorists seems like mission creep to me. Maybe it was just a poorly worded or intentional extravagant phrasing. As for me, this characterization supports my belief the Federal Government is a vast inefficient unaccountable inscrutable redundancy.
-USAID "supports freedom fighters everywhere in this world,"
-"USAID chases China around the world,"
-"USAID fights terrorist groups all across this world."
Dems are horribly out of touch. Speeches were not compelling, they need to.put fired employees and poor citizens of other countries who will.sicken and die out front. Break things. Speak the names of the Musk 6 ( "You have committed a crime") Don't they understand human appeal?