Mar 01 Trump cut lifesaving foreign aid as State Department planned to buy expensive art for embassies By Laura Barrón-López The intended purchases, which total nearly $2 million, were described by a U.S. government official with information about the State Department’s spending plans. Continue reading
Feb 27 Watch 7:27 Doctor who survived Ebola highlights risks of Musk's funding cuts By Laura Barrón-López, Ali Schmitz In a Cabinet meeting, Elon Musk defended the actions his team has made to cut government jobs, but public health experts say Musk is wrong. USAID's Ebola prevention efforts have been largely frozen since the agency was mostly shuttered last… Continue watching
Feb 27 USAID workers clear out belongings after mournful final visit to agency under federal guard By Gary Fields, Eileen Knickmeyer, Associated Press U.S. Agency for International Development workers who've been given 15 minutes to clear out their workspaces as part of the Trump administration's dismantling of the agency have begun arriving at their Washington headquarters. Continue reading
Feb 23 Trump administration moves ahead with firing 2,000 USAID workers, with thousands more put on leave By Ellen Knickmeyer, Associated Press The Trump administration said Sunday that it was placing all but a fraction of staffers at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave worldwide and eliminating 2,000 U.S.-based staff positions. Continue reading
Feb 21 Judge clears way for Trump administration to pull thousands of USAID workers off the job By Ellen Knickmeyer, Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols declined to keep in place his temporary block on the effort to remove all but a small fraction of USAID staffers from their posts, as part of an administration plan that would also give those… Continue reading
Feb 14 Where U.S. adults think the government is spending too much and too little, according to AP-NORC poll By Linley Sanders, Associated Press Many U.S. adults believe the federal government is overspending. But polling also shows many Americans, including Republicans, think the country is spending too little on major government programs like Social Security. Continue reading
Feb 12 Government watchdogs fired by Trump sue and ask judge to reinstate them By Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press Eight government watchdogs have sued over their mass firing that removed oversight of President Donald Trump's new administration. Continue reading
Feb 10 Watchdog: Trump's dismantling of USAID means billions in unspent aid now lack oversight By Ellen Knickmeyer, Associated Press The Trump administration’s actions have “significantly impacted USAID’s capacity to disburse and safeguard its humanitarian assistance programming,” said the watchdog, which also cited the risk of hundreds of millions of dollars in commodities rotting after staff was barred from delivering… Continue reading
Feb 10 Trump administration takes USAID off its building lease By Ellen Knickmeyer, Associated Press The eviction comes as a court temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that would have pulled all but a fraction of workers off the job worldwide. Continue reading
Feb 10 Vatican charity blasts Trump administration's plan to 'recklessly' gut USAID By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press Caritas on Monday warned that millions of people could die as a result of the “ruthless” U.S. decision to “recklessly” stop USAID funding. Continue reading