Democrats vow to oppose changes to USAID

Democratic leaders in Congress warned President Donald Trump this week that they will use the upcoming federal budget talks as a pressure mechanism to oppose changes made by the new administration to U.S. government agencies, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, the main agency that provides humanitarian assistance abroad. VOA's Katherine Gypson provides more insights from lawmakers and analysts on what is happening at USAID.

From protecting the Amazon rainforest to caring for Myanmar refugees and sheltering Ukrainians fleeing a war waged by Russia, the lack of aid provided by the United States is being felt around the world. In Washington this week, Democratic lawmakers protested outside the now-shuttered USAID headquarters and outside Congress.

"We will oppose the violations they have committed regarding the separation of powers. The violation of the Constitution of the United States. We will not be silent. We will stand up. We will react. We will oppose ," said Democratic Senator Cory Booker.

Earlier this week, the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, was placed under the control of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and nearly all of its employees were placed on furlough, following an executive order by President Donald Trump to suspend all aid to foreign countries while it undergoes a review process.

"We are seeing how the most powerful man in the world, Donald J. Trump, and the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, are taking money and food away from the poorest people in the world," said Democratic lawmaker Jonathan Jackson.

Republican lawmakers in Congress say Mr. Trump is exercising broad presidential authority to reevaluate federal agencies. Mr. Trump is doing so through billionaire Elon Musk, whom he has appointed to head the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, which aims to cut federal spending.

"I don't think they're closing the agency, but I believe they have the right to review spending, how decisions are made and what priorities are funded. I think that goes for every administration. When a new administration comes in, there are a lot of programs authorized and funded through that agency (USAID), some of which I think are working as intended, some of which are not," said John Thune, Senate Majority Leader.

Analyst Claire Finkelstein told Voice of America that this is an unprecedented situation.

“It would likely be a violation of the separation of powers for the executive branch to try to completely shut down agencies that were established by Congress, which also approves the funds, even though this executive branch has authority over how the funds should be used and how USAID should operate,” says Ms. Finkelstein.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that he supports efforts to eliminate embezzlement and abuse, but criticized the speed and secrecy of the process.

"Whatever the Department of Government Efficiency is doing is not democracy. We know what democracy is like. Transparent. It's not secret ," Mr. Schumer said.

Democrats have vowed to block the vote on Trump's cabinet nominees and use their votes on the government funding budget as a leverage tool to oppose changes to USAID./ Voice of America (A2 Televizion)