Hundreds of US diplomats join letter to Rubio to protest dismantling of USAID [View all]

Source: Reuters

By Humeyra Pamuk
March 5, 2025 7:09 PM EST

Summary

• Cuts undermine US leadership, national security, they say
• Dismantling of USAID risks vacuums for China, Russia to fill

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - Hundreds of diplomats at the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development have written a letter addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio protesting the dismantling of USAID, saying its demise would undermine U.S. leadership and security and create a power vacuum which China and Russia could exploit.

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 U.S. assistance.

More than 700 people have signed onto the letter, a U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity said.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-diplomats-dissent-cable-rubio-protest-usaid-dismantling-cut-foreign-aid-2025-03-05/