Disastrous. Shortsighted. Checkered. Incomplete. Bloody. Failure. These are just a handful of the words used to described U.S. Foreign Policy under former President Joe Biden's administration. The military withdraw from Afghanistan resulting in needless death, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the bolstering of rhetoric from China, the temporary pier in Gaza, the soaring inflation rate in the United States, rampant and uncontrolled Diversity-Equity-Inclusion programs across government, and Gay Pride flags flown over U.S. Embassies around the world have defined Biden's one-term tenure on Pennsylvania Avenue. With his historic return to the White House, President Donald Trump has changed the course of the game and the face of American diplomacy.
Among his first Executive Orders signed, Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement, the international accord on climate change. This was expected, as he announced his intentions to do so while campaigning for the presidency. He also declared a national emergency at the southern border with Mexico. This provided him with legal authority to resume building a wall between the two nations as well as send in the U.S. military in an attempt to stem or stop the flow of illegal migrants permitted to enter under the Biden administration without recourse. To that end, President Trump reinstated the remain in Mexico policy he had created during his first term in office, which was foolishly rescinded by Biden.
Trump continued reducing taxpayer expenditures and increasing accountability of government spending by firing 17 independent Inspectors General from federal agencies including the State Department and Defense Department. Mike Ware, who served as the chair of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency declared, "We're looking at what amounts to a threat to democracy, a threat to independent oversight and a threat to transparency in Government."
Nearly 60 U.S. Agency for International Development officials were placed on administration leave and hundreds of government contractors were laid off. These cuts were made after Marco Rubio, the new Secretary of State, paused all U.S. Foreign Assistance funded through the State Department and USAID for a period of 90 day to reevaluate priorities abroad in areas of humanitarian assistance, development, and security programs. The pause in funding these initiatives forced several organizations to lay off hundreds of employees. According to an internal USAID memo, new acting administrator Jason Gray said there have been "several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the President's Executive Orders."
The U.S. provides annual aid to Bangladesh in the amount of $200 million. Added to this figure is another $300 million from Great Britain and Australia. That's $500 million in annual aid for a country of 160 million inhabitants in an area the size of the state of Georgia, doubling its GDP. For the amount of resources being gifted to the government of Bangladesh each and every year, one would think there is a new international airport, robust seaport, plenty of energy and clean drinking water, paved roads, air-conditioned schools and hospitals, and reputable medical care. But none of that exists. Instead, tap water is non-potable, the country is strife with open sewer systems, even in the diplomatic enclave, and the level of corruption is off the charts. For President Trump to question why the U.S. continues stuffing millions into the trunks of the armored BMWs of the ruling party while 90% of its citizens live below the poverty line is reasonable.
Trump is right in calling for a review of U.S. aid programs. According to Fox News, the United States is the largest donor of aid, having dispersed $72 billion in assistance worldwide in fiscal year 2023, so there is good cause to evaluate the necessity of sending monetary assistance to countries, many of which are corrupt at the highest levels of government. In my experience as a State Department employee across a 20-year career, much foreign aid never reaches its intended target. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has pledged, however, that emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt will continue during the freeze.
Ware noted that Inspectors General are bipartisan and ensure there is no waste, fraud, and abuse in how taxpayer funds are released. Although it is true the IGs are independent and not tied to a political party, the responsibility of dispersing funds to foreign nations rides with the American Ambassador in the country identified to receive those funds. Since ambassador's are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, the argument of independent IGs simply does not hold water. The distribution of funds and the policing of waste, fraud, and corruption on the part of the recipient of the funds is not a priority for AID or State. In most cases, the State Department doesn't really care what happens to the grants and donations. So where's the oversight? Well, there isn't any. Trump knows this and is hell bent on fixing the problem by replacing the Inspectors. The mass firing of IGs came after President Trump shut down diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, rescinded job offers and benched 150 foreign policy officials and national security experts.
To solidify his America First approached, Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico the 'Gulf of America' and has expressed his intention to leave the Word Health Organization. "World Health ripped us off. Everybody rips off the United States. It's not going to happen anymore," he said. "It's kind of an executive order shock-and-awe campaign," political historian Matthew Dallek told the Washington Post.
These actions are a polar opposite of what had been taking place during the Biden administration. Marco Rubio may be the nation's top diplomat, but the face of American Foreign Policy is clearly that of President Trump.
