Secretary of State Marco Rubio was installed as acting administrator the U.S. Agency for International Development on Monday, after Elon Musk said President Donald Trump had signed off on shutting the agency down.
Rachel Beatty Riedl, professor of government and director of Cornell University’s Center on Global Democracy, says the cost of such a retreat from current U.S. commitments dangerously disrupts protections to life and liberty, “with clear costs both at home and abroad.”
Riedl says: “USAID was founded in 1961 in a post-war world with the principle that American security, stability, and prosperity was tied to developmental advancements around the globe.
"Undercutting long-established relationships with partner countries around the world weakens America’s diplomacy and ability to compete with other global powers such as Russia and China for critical resources, markets, and geostrategic alliances against radical extremists or other threats to U.S. national interests.
“In this move to centralize executive power over USAID, President Trump would be making an exceptional move to shut down an agency that Congress codified into law. USAID is, by law, an independent agency which cannot be altered without congressional approval.”
For interviews contact Adam Allington, cell 231-620-7180, adam.allington@cornell.edu.
