What Will Be Left Of USAID?

What A Day

Crooked Media

News, Daily News

4.6 • 12K Ratings

🗓️ 7 February 2025

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development continued Thursday. Multiple news outlets reported the Trump administration plans to retain fewer than 300 agency staffers — out of more than 10,000 worldwide. Millions of the world’s poorest people rely on on the foreign aid agency for basic needs like food, medication and water. But that hasn’t stopped Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, from trying to feed USAID “into the wood chipper.” Lindsay Branhum, a humanitarian filmmaker who’s worked on USAID-funded conflict resolution programs all over the world, explains what the cuts mean for people on the ground. And in headlines: DOGE turns to A.I. in its quest to dismantle the federal government, the Justice Department sues the state of Illinois and Chicago over sanctuary city laws, and rapper Kendrick Lamar prepares to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's Friday, February 7th. I'm Jane Koston, and this is What a Day, the show congratulating Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency for its little army of college-aged dorks who have access to the federal government's most sensitive information.
0:15.2	Of course, one doge staffer resigned Thursday after his blindingly racist Twitter feed was discovered.
0:21.2	So sad.
0:22.2	Too bad.
0:28.4	On today's show, Elon Musk turns to AI in his quest to dismantle the federal government.
0:33.4	And the Justice Department sues the state of Illinois and Chicago over sanctuary city laws.
0:38.0	But let's start with a gutting of the United States Agency for International Development or USAID.
0:43.7	On Thursday, multiple news outlets reported that the Trump administration plans to retain
0:47.9	only around 300 USAID staffers out of the more than 10,000 stationed around the world,
0:53.5	according to anonymous sources.
0:55.5	As of our recording time Thursday night, the State Department had not confirmed the reports,
0:59.7	but many employees were already preparing to be put on paid administrative leave starting
1:03.5	Friday night after a memo was posted to USCID's website earlier this week.
1:08.1	Two labor groups have now sued to stop the administration's actions.
1:11.9	As we mentioned on the show yesterday, this is part of Elon Musk and the Department of
1:15.7	Government Efficiency's efforts to put USAID, quote, into the wood chipper. In fact, according to
1:21.1	reporting from the New York Times, Doge allies attempted to get access to treasury payment systems
1:25.8	to freeze disbursements to USAID four days after the inauguration.
1:30.2	Thousands of projects from efforts aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV and stopping the spread of disease to projects focused on child development have been paused around the world.
1:39.5	Secretary of State Marco Rubio told staffers in Guatemala this week that he didn't intend to uproot USAID
1:44.9	staffers and their families and asked for patience. And during a press conference held during a visit
1:50.3	to the Dominican Republic on Thursday, Rubio argued that the changes being made to USCID were about
	...

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