Every week we break down the big headlines in global development and bring in top experts to help us do it. Hosted by Raj Kumar, President and Editor-in-Chief o...
The battle for USAID's future, and shock cuts to UK foreign assistance
This week the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to not pay billions of dollars in foreign aid to USAID and State Department partners — lifting a temporary reprieve granted by Chief Justice John Roberts. On the topic of USAID, the U.S. African Development Foundation mounted a direct challenge to the Trump administration. Wednesday saw USADF staff physically prevent Department of Government Efficiency officials from entering their offices.Across the pond, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the shifting of billions in aid spending to fund a larger military. This means that the U.K.’s aid budget will be cut to just 0.3% of gross national income by 2027, despite a manifesto promise to increase this figure from 0.5% back to 0.7%. To explore these stories and others, Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger sits down with Deputy Managing Editor Fiona Zublin and Global Development Reporter Elissa Miolene for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series.Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.
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The latest on the dismantling of USAID
This week we closely followed the latest developments on the U.S. government’s attempt at dismantling USAID.We learned that the Trump administration has decided to cut 1,600 USAID personnel based in the United States, while also placing nearly all direct hires worldwide on administrative leave by midnight Sunday.Simultaneously, the Trump administration terminated nearly 10,000 foreign aid awards under USAID and the U.S. State Department, including those delivering critical humanitarian aid.And following a contentious legal battle in the lower courts, the U.S. Supreme Court paused a judge’s order forcing the government to pay $2 billion in frozen foreign aid, giving the Trump administration a temporary reprieve from the directive issued by a U.S. District Court.What’s next for USAID and U.S. foreign assistance?To take a look at the situation, Devex Senior Editor Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Senior Reporter Sara Jerving and Global Development Reporter Elissa Miolene for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.
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In legal limbo: Inside the lawsuits against Trump's aid freeze
This week we were closely following the lawsuits filed against the Trump administration for freezing U.S. foreign assistance. One of the lawsuits targets Elon Musk, stating that the billionaire has decimated the U.S. Agency for International Development without the authority to do so. However, the government appears to be determined to fight back against those who are ready to challenge its decisions. We also look back at the Munich Security Conference, where we were media partners. From conversations on food security to the attendance of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, we discuss the key takeaways from the event. For the latest episode of our podcast series, Devex Business Editor David Ainsworth sits down with Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar, and Devex Managing Editor Anna Gawel, to dig into these stories and more. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.
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Fighting back: Can lawsuits save US foreign aid?
This week we were closely tracking the legal battles surrounding USAID's closure, with lawsuits filed by both former contractors and NGO partners as the fallout from the agency's shutdown continues to reverberate across the global development community.USAID is not the only institution in the sector being affected by the new U.S. administration. We also reported that the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration has edited out any references to sexual reproductive rights and diversity, equity, and inclusion in an apparent effort to prevent the Trump administration from making severe budget cuts to their programs.What will be the outcome of the lawsuits? How will other U.N. agencies react to Trump’s presidency?For the latest episode of our podcast series, Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Anna Gawel and Colum Lynch to break down these stories, and others. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.
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US foreign aid goes dark: USAID’s final hours
This week our entire newsroom has been on the story of how the Trump administration has dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development. The administrative leave of much of USAID's workforce, including senior executives and almost all international staff, coupled with the layoff of thousands of contractors, has cast a long shadow over the future of U.S. foreign aid as we know it and raised concerns across the development sector about the continuity of critical programs.On Feb. 5, our team was on the ground as thousands rallied outside the U.S. Capitol, protesting the gutting of USAID.What will happen next? To make sense of the situation, Devex Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger sits down with Devex Reporters Sara Jerving and Elissa Miolene for the latest edition of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.
Every week we break down the big headlines in global development and bring in top experts to help us do it. Hosted by Raj Kumar, President and Editor-in-Chief of Devex.Episodes are streamed live on Twitter Spaces on Fridays and published here on Mondays.Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters: https://www.devex.com/account/newsletters
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