EU leaders to back defense surge, support Zelensky after US aid freeze

WASHINGTON: Hundreds of diplomats at the State Department and US Agency for International Development have written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio protesting the dismantling of USAID, saying its dismantling undermines US leadership and security and leaves power vacuums for China and Russia to fill.
In a cable expected to be filed with the department’s internal “dissent channel,” which allows diplomats to raise concerns about policy anonymously, the diplomats said the Trump administration’s January 20 freeze on almost all foreign aid also endangers American diplomats and forces overseas while putting at risk the lives of millions abroad that depend on US assistance.
More than 700 people have signed onto the letter, a US official speaking on the condition of anonymity said.
“The decision to freeze and terminate foreign aid contracts and assistance awards without any meaningful review jeopardizes our partnerships with key allies, erodes trust, and creates openings for adversaries to expand their influence,” said the cable, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
The Republican president, pursuing what he has called an “America First” agenda, ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid on his January 20 return to office. The order halted USAID operations around the world, jeopardizing delivery of life-saving food and medical aid, and throwing global humanitarian relief efforts into chaos.
“The freeze on life-saving aid has already caused irreparable harm and suffering to millions of people around the world,” the letter said, adding that despite statements on waivers being issued for life-saving programs, the funding remained shut.
The president tasked billionaire and adviser Elon Musk with dismantling USAID as part of an unprecedented push to shrink the federal government over what both say is wasteful spending and abuse of funds.
“Foreign assistance is not charity. Instead, it is a strategic tool that stabilizes regions, prevents conflict, and advances US interests,” the letter said.
A State Department spokesperson, when asked about the cable, said: “We do not comment on leaked internal communication.”
In fiscal year 2023, the United States disbursed $72 billion of aid worldwide, on everything from women’s health in conflict zones to access to clean water, HIV/AIDS trea“The freeze on life-saving aid has already caused irreparable harm and suffering to millions of people around the world,” the letter satments, energy security and anti-corruption work.
Upon evaluating 6,200 multi-year awards, the administration decided to eliminate nearly 5,800 of them worth $54 billion in value, a 92 percent reduction, according to a State Department spokesperson. USAID fired or put on administrative leave thousands of staff and contractors.
The cable said the government’s failure to pay outstanding invoices to contractors and implementing partners has severe economic repercussions.
“The resulting financial strain not only undermines confidence in the US government as a reliable partner, it also weakens domestic economic growth at a time of mounting global competition,” the cable said.
Organizations and companies that contract with USAID last month sued the administration, calling the dismantling of the agency unlawful and saying funding had been cut off for existing contracts, including hundreds of millions of dollars for work that is already done.
The US Supreme Court declined on Wednesday to let the administration withhold payments to foreign aid organizations for work they already performed for the government, upholding a district judge’s order that had called on the administration to promptly release payments to contractors.

WASHINGTON: The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives kicked off a process on Wednesday that could lead lawmakers to censure Democrat Al Green, who was kicked out of the chamber after yelling at President Donald Trump during an address.
Representative Green, a Texas Democrat who has been in Congress for 20 years and has repeatedly called to impeach Trump, is facing a House censure resolution for yelling at the president, waiving his black cane and refusing to sit down during Trump’s Tuesday night speech.
Green’s message was drowned out by boos from Republicans, but he told reporters on Tuesday that he was saying Trump had no electoral mandate to slash funding for Medicaid, the government health care program that helps cover costs for people with limited income.
Green was eventually escorted out by chamber staff who maintain the decorum and security of the floor.
Representative Dan Newhouse, a moderate Republican from Washington, introduced the resolution to censure Green for a “breach of proper conduct.”
A vote by the full House chamber on the censure resolution is expected in coming days, and Green will be required to be on the floor at that time. Censure is a symbolic reprimand that carries no fines or other penalties.
The censure process was once a rarity, but four House lawmakers have been publicly reprimanded by their colleagues in the last four years for inappropriate social media posts, actions that a majority of the House found problematic, and disrupting a vote.
In 2009, Republican Representative Joe Wilson from South Carolina faced a resolution of disapproval — a lesser form of punishment — after he shouted “You lie!” at Democratic President Barack Obama during an address to a joint session of Congress.
Wilson’s outburst at the time drew gasps from other lawmakers, but on Tuesday that type of behavior was happening almost every minute inside the chamber. Republicans cheered Trump’s speech and taunted Democrats, while other House Democratic lawmakers held signs to fact-check the president and repeatedly yelled from their seats in opposition.
Green’s outburst — and moves by some of his colleagues who walked out during the speech — marked a sharp contrast with Democratic leaders who had urged decorum and tapped a moderate senator from Michigan to deliver their rebuttal speech.
Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon unfurled a blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag as Trump spoke about the country’s war with Russia.