Beyond rallies and rhetoric, what can be done to block deadly foreign aid cuts?

Cutbacks endanger millions worldwide, including 20 million on HIV-blocking meds

Opponents of President Trump’s unfathomably cruel obliteration of U.S. foreign aid have begun to protest, but so far have taken no effective action to block it.

The fund cutbacks jeopardize people’s lives worldwide, including the 20 million women, children and LGBTQ people receiving HIV-fighting antiretroviral medications that are funded by the nation’s foreign aid agency, USAID.

The Devex news agency asked today, “What can be done for USAID beyond rallies and rhetoric?”

These are excerpts from  Devex coverage:

[At a protest yesterday] Sen. Cory Booker said Democrats would support putting a “blanket hold” on Trump’s U.S. State Department nominees. [Editor’s note: Democrats are in the minority in Congress, which means they cannot block nominees unless some Republicans join them.]

“We will fight legally, we will fight procedurally, and we will also fight legislatively,” Booker declared.

Meanwhile, Sen. Tim Kaine said members of the U.S. Congress were pushing five lawsuits forward, one of which focused on protecting federal workers, including those at USAID. And Rep. Sara Jacobs said she would introduce legislation this week to “push back on Elon Musk’s illegal takeover” of USAID.

Lawsuits are one obvious answer, although so far action has been tepid. Panelists [at a Devex-sponsored event] pointed out that many organizations are too scared to be the first to stick their necks out, fearful of alienating the Trump administration and ruining chances of obtaining a waiver to the foreign aid freeze.

But Patrick Fine of the Brookings Institution said someone has to make the first move.

“This caution that organizations are feeling of, ‘Well, we don’t want to be out front because then we’ll become persona non grata,’ is misplaced at this point,” he said. “If somebody’s got a knife to your throat, you’ve got to start fighting back, or you just give up.”

He also urged Congress to fight back, although whether they do so remains one of many open questions.

“At what point does Congress, not just the Democratic members, but the Republican members, recognize this is not in the interests of the United States?” he asked. “This is harming our foreign policy. When will Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio see that this weakens his position rather than strengthening it?”