Bipartisan Leaders File Legal Brief Warning that USAID Cuts Harm America’s Security
Washington, D.C. — This week, a bipartisan coalition of national security experts filed an amicus brief arguing that the Trump-Vance administration’s cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) threatens America’s national security, surrenders diplomatic and economic opportunities to its adversaries, and stunts our country’s ability to engage as a partner on the world stage.
The amicus brief was filed in a case brought by Democracy Forward and Public Citizen Litigation Group on behalf of the American Foreign Service Association, American Federation of Government Employees, and Oxfam America. The coalition most recently filed a motion for summary judgment in its case to block the Trump administration from shutting down the USAID.
Signatories on the brief include: Charles Hagel, Secretary of Defense (2013-2015), United States Senator for Nebraska (1997-2009); William Perry, Secretary of Defense (1994-1997), Deputy Secretary of Defense (1993-1994); Michael Hayden, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2006-2009), Director of the National Security Agency (1999-2005), General, United States Air Force; Howard Berman, U.S. Representative for California’s 26th and 28th Districts (1983-2013), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (2008-2011); Eric Edelman, Principal Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President (2001-2003), Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2005-2009); Brian McKeon, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources (2021-2022), Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2016); Wendy Sherman, Deputy Secretary of State (2021-2023), Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (2011-2015); Alexander Vershbow, Deputy Secretary General of NATO (2012-2016), Ambassador to Russia (2001-2005); Gayle Smith, USAID Administrator (2015-2017), Special Assistant to the President (2009-2015; 1998-2001); Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia (2006-2009), Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs (2000-2005); A. Peter Burleigh, Ambassador and Deputy Representative to the United Nations (1997-1999), Ambassador and Coordinator of Counter-Terrorism (1991-1992); Ruth Davis, Director General of the Foreign Service (2001-2003), Ambassador to Benin (1992-1995); Robert Goldberg, Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance, Department of State (2010-2014), Deputy Associate Director for International Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (2004-2010); Gordon Gray, Ambassador to Tunisia (2009-2012), Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (2005-2008); Richard Greene, Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance, Department of State (2007-2009), Chief Financial Officer, Department of State (1993-1998); Robert Hutchings, Chairman of the National Intelligence Council (2003-2005), Special Advisor to the Secretary of State (1992-93); Chris Kojm, Chairman of the National Intelligence Council (2009-2014), Deputy Executive Director, 9/11 Commission (2003-2004); Nancy McEldowney, National Security Advisor to the Vice President (2021-2022), Director of the Foreign Service Institute (2013-2017); Daniel Shapiro, Ambassador to Israel (2011-2017), Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy; Todd Stern, Special Envoy for Climate Change, Department of State (2009-2016), Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary (1995-1999); Harry Thomas Jr., Ambassador to Zimbabwe (2016-18), Ambassador to the Philippines (2010-2013); and Pamela White, Ambassador to Haiti (2012-2015), USAID Mission Director in Mali and Tanzania and Liberia (2005-2010).
See coverage below:
NEWSWEEK: “Trump’s USAID Cuts Help China and Russia, Former Officials Argue in Court”
President Donald Trump’s decision to put a halt to most foreign-aid funding has caused “irreparable” damage to America’s standing abroad and strengthened adversaries including China and Russia, former senior Republican and Democratic officials wrote in a new court filing.
The Trump administration has destroyed the United States’ “credibility as a reliable partner” to allies around the world by dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the former top diplomats, defense and national security officials from past Republican and Democratic administrations said in a blistering amicus brief filed Monday in federal court.
Foreign aid funding “is the right thing to do, but it’s also in our interest,” Michael Hayden, a former CIA director under George W. Bush and one of the officials who signed the brief, told Newsweek.
Other signatories include Eric Edelman, a former senior Defense Department official under Bush, Richard Greene, the director of U.S. Foreign Assistance under Bush, and the Clinton-era Defense Secretary William Perry.
BLOOMBERG: “Can’t Let Putin Determine Ceasefire Conditions: Hagel“
Chuck Hagel, Fmr. Secretary of Defense, shares his thoughts on President Trump’s and President Putin’s phone call where Putin agreed to an energy and infrastructure ceasefire with Ukraine for 30 days, and whether or not it can turn into a full truce. The former secretary also talks about the potential consequences if President Trump allows Putin to determine the conditions, and discusses the warnings of dismantling USAID & how it can effect America’s ability to be a mediator between Ukraine and Russia. Chuck Hagel speaks with Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu on Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power.”
On Monday, 22 former national security officials filed a “friend of the court” brief in a different court case on behalf of the national interest benefits to USAID funding. They wrote that “cancelling contracts en masse destroys American credibility.”
“Defendants’ sweeping actions have created vacuums of need all around the world, ceding influence and permitting China and Russia to seize those opportunities left behind,” the brief said.
– # # # –