What Will Be Left Of USAID?

Summary

Podcast Summary: "What Will Be Left Of USAID?"

Podcast Information:

• Title: What A Day
• Host/Author: Crooked Media
• Episode Title: What Will Be Left Of USAID?
• Release Date: February 7, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of What A Day, host Jane Coaston delves into the alarming news surrounding the potential dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Released on February 7, 2025, the episode provides an in-depth analysis of recent developments, featuring an interview with Lindsay Branham, a humanitarian filmmaker with two decades of experience in USAID-funded programs.

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USAID Under Threat

The episode opens with Jane Coaston highlighting reports that the Trump administration plans to drastically reduce USAID's workforce from over 10,000 staffers worldwide to a mere 300. This decision, confirmed by multiple news outlets on Thursday, involves putting many USAID employees on paid administrative leave starting Friday night. Although the State Department had not officially confirmed these reports at the time of recording, unease among USAID staffers was palpable.

Jane emphasizes that this move is part of a broader strategy by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to "put USAID into the wood chipper." According to a New York Times report cited in the podcast, DOGE allies attempted to access Treasury payment systems to halt disbursements to USAID shortly after the inauguration. This action has resulted in the suspension of thousands of projects worldwide, ranging from HIV prevention to child development initiatives.

Notable Quote:

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio told staffers in Guatemala this week that he didn't intend to uproot USAID staffers and their families and asked for patience.”
(Jane Coaston, 00:41)

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Interview with Lindsay Branham

To shed light on the ramifications of these cuts, Jane Coaston interviews Lindsay Branham, a seasoned humanitarian filmmaker who has extensively worked on USAID-funded conflict resolution programs.

Lindsay’s Background and USAID’s Impact

Lindsay shares her first experience with USAID at age 24 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she was involved in food assistance, water and sanitation projects, and supporting vulnerable populations. Over the past 20 years, her work has consistently aligned with USAID’s mission, focusing on violence prevention and conflict resolution across various regions.

Notable Quote:

“The USAID budget overall is about 40 billion, which is less than 1% of the entire federal budget. So that's an immensely small amount when you consider the impact not just globally, but also to secure American interests.”
(Lindsay Branham, 03:14)

Impact of the Funding Freeze

Lindsay details the immediate effects of the funding freeze, recounting how her organization in Brazil received a sudden stop order with little to no context. Projects supporting 12 million young people are jeopardized as teams scramble to secure private funding to continue their vital work. She underscores the broader implications, such as the halt of the President's Malaria Initiative, which benefits 600,000 people annually, and the disruption of essential HIV prevention programs.

Notable Quote:

“There is millions of people whose lives depend on antiretroviral drugs they can't access. Those babies are being born now without the assistance of preventable medication to prevent the contraction of HIV.”
(Lindsay Branham, 04:45)

Broader Reactions and Implications

Lindsay conveys the deep distress among USAID employees and partners, highlighting the potential legal ramifications of halting payments and the overall destabilizing effect on international efforts to combat disease and violence. She argues that the 90-day funding pause appears insincere, given the swift administrative actions that undermine any genuine review process.

Notable Quote:

“The USAID is full of amazing dedicated civil servants that are devastated to see the impact on people that they care about.”
(Lindsay Branham, 05:42)

National Security and Constitutional Concerns

Addressing internal debates within the Democratic Party regarding the importance of defending USAID, Lindsay emphasizes that reducing foreign aid is not merely a budgetary issue but a matter of national security. She warns that dismantling USAID could lead to power vacuums similar to those seen in Afghanistan, exacerbating global security risks and compromising America's ability to manage bio-threats and global health issues.

Notable Quote:

“This is about national security as well. If we pull out of these countries, it's kind of like what happened when the US pulled out of Afghanistan.”
(Lindsay Branham, 07:24)

Resistance and Hope

Despite the grim outlook, Lindsay and her colleagues are organizing grassroots coalitions to oppose the dismantling of USAID. They remain committed to maintaining their global initiatives through alternative funding sources, refusing to accept the administration's attempts to end their crucial work.

Notable Quote:

“Authoritarian rule wins when we bow to that power. And so no, we will continue to do the good work that's expected that we've created relationships all around the world and we won't stand for this.”
(Lindsay Branham, 09:02)

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Broader Context: Elon Musk and DOGE

Following the interview, Jane transitions to discussing the broader implications of Elon Musk's involvement through DOGE. She references Steve Bannon's shifting stance from being a critic to a supporter of Musk, highlighting the political maneuvering within the administration to justify the ongoing dismantling of USAID.

Notable Quote:

“He's already identified something we've tried to get rid of for years, the House Freedom Caucus tried to get rid of for years the USAID.”
(Steve Bannon, 11:40)

Jane also touches on concerns regarding DOGE's use of AI to manipulate federal data, raising alarms about potential privacy breaches and the broader strategy to cut federal spending using advanced technologies.

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with a stark portrayal of the uncertainty facing USAID and its millions of beneficiaries worldwide. Jane Coaston underscores the critical role USAID plays in global stability and public health, while highlighting the passionate resistance from those within and associated with the agency. The discussions reflect broader themes of governmental efficiency versus compassionate foreign aid, the politicization of international development, and the enduring struggle to maintain essential humanitarian efforts in the face of political upheaval.

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Key Takeaways:

• The Trump administration is poised to drastically reduce USAID's workforce from over 10,000 to approximately 300 staffers.
• Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is actively working to dismantle USAID, including attempts to freeze its funding.
• Lindsay Branham, a veteran USAID partner, articulates the severe impact of these cuts on global health and security initiatives.
• The funding pause appears insincere, raising concerns about the future of foreign aid and national security.
• Internal political debates reflect a divided stance on the importance of USAID, with significant opposition to its dismantling.

Notable Quotes:

• “The USAID budget overall is about 40 billion, which is less than 1% of the entire federal budget.” — Lindsay Branham (03:14)
• “There is millions of people whose lives depend on antiretroviral drugs they can't access.” — Lindsay Branham (04:45)
• “This is about national security as well. If we pull out of these countries, it's kind of like what happened when the US pulled out of Afghanistan.” — Lindsay Branham (07:24)
• “Authoritarian rule wins when we bow to that power.” — Lindsay Branham (09:02)

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Further Listening

For more insights and updates, subscribe to What A Day on your favorite podcast platform or watch on YouTube. Stay informed with Crooked Media as they continue to cover the pressing issues shaping our world.

Transcript

[Jane Coastin]

It's Friday, February 7th. I'm Jane Coastin and this is what a day. The show congratulating Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency for its little army of college age dorks who have access to the federal government's most sensitive information. Of course, one DOGE staffer resigned Thursday after his blindingly racist Twitter feed was discovered. So sad. Too bad. On today's show, Elon Musk turns to AI in his quest to displace dismantle the federal government, and the Justice Department sues the State of Illinois and Chicago over sanctuary city laws. But let's start with the gutting of the United States Agency for International Development, or usaid. On Thursday, multiple news outlets reported that the Trump administration plans to retain only around 300 USAID staffers out of the more than 10,000 stationed around the world, According to anonymous sources, as of our recording time Thursday night, the State Department had not confirmed the reports, but many employees were already preparing to be put on paid administrative leave starting Friday night after a memo was posted to USAID's website earlier this week. Two labor groups have now sued to stop the administration's actions. As we mentioned on the show yesterday, this is part of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to put USAID into the wood chipper. In fact, according to reporting from the New York Times, DOGE allies attempted to get access to treasury payment systems to freeze disbursements to USAID four days after the inauguration. 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. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told staffers in Guatemala this week that he didn't intend to uproot USAID staffers and their families and asked for patience. And during a press conference held during a visit to the Dominican Republic on Thursday, Rubio argued that the changes being made to USAID were about eliminating waste.

[Lindsay Branham]

The goal of our endeavor has always been to identify programs that work and continue them, and to identify programs that are not aligned with our national interests.

[Jane Coastin]

But with Elon Musk and his online cheer squad celebrating the mass firing of USAID workers and the ending of projects aimed at saving the lives of millions of people, it seems pretty clear that waste isn't the point. So to get a sense of what the funding pause and pending layoffs mean for people who work with usaid, I spoke with Lindsey Branham. She's a humanitarian filmmaker and has worked on USAID funded conflict resolution Programs all over the world. Lindsay, welcome to what a day.

[Lindsay Branham]

Thank you. Good to be here.

[Jane Coastin]

As someone who helped implement USAID programs for a long time, can you tell us a little bit about the work that you've done in the world and how USAID made that possible?

[Lindsay Branham]

Yeah. So my very first job when I was 24 years old was in the Democratic Republic of Congo with a USAID funded organization doing food assistance and water and sanitation projects, helping orphans and vulnerable children, women that had survived sexual violence and so much more. And from then forward, the last 20 years have been intermittent with incredible, beautiful USAID funded projects all over the world, mostly focused on violence prevention and conflict resolution.

[Jane Coastin]

How much does that kind of work cost?

[Lindsay Branham]

So I think the USAID budget overall is about 40 billion, which is less than 1% of the entire federal budget. So that's an immensely small amount when you consider the impact not just globally. Globally, but also to secure American interests. USAID is actually the largest buyer of American farmer goods, which most people don't know and is a huge employer of Americans. Upwards of 50,000American jobs have been lost since the freeze.

[Jane Coastin]

Can you walk us through actually the last few weeks for you, starting with how you found out about the funding freeze?

[Lindsay Branham]

So we have a USAID funded project that was awarded last fall in Brazil. And about 10 days ago we received a stop order. Now with no other information. And to put this in context, you know, these projects are not just small projects. These are huge projects that are involving the financial and supply chain infrastructure of the entire globe. So to put a hard stop on programs is almost unconscionable. We're a really small piece of that huge puzzle, obviously, but we were sent into a tailspin. What does this mean? What do we do about our projects? Our project is aimed to support 12 million young people in Brazil. Brazil. So internally, like so many other implementing partners, have been scrambling to see if they can raise private funding to try to understand what's happening. But USAID employees are being put on administrative leave faster than the news can even cover it. So there's no one to even answer those questions.

[Jane Coastin]

What has the funding freeze meant for you and your organization?

[Lindsay Branham]

We are lucky, I would say, in that we were in the early stage of rolling that out. However, we're just going ahead and hoping that we can raise the money we need for it. But there are a lot of projects that aren't in that same position. For example, you know, the President's Malaria initiative, which is funded by USAID, benefits 600,000 people every year. That's just a full stop. There is millions of people whose lives depend on antiretroviral drugs they can't access. Those babies are being born now without the assistance of preventable medication to prevent the contraction of hiv. So people will die and are already dying because of this policy.

[Jane Coastin]

Right. I used to work in pediatric HIV prevention and prevention of mother to child transmission is such a huge effort and so important to so many people. What are you hearing from other people on the ground who have also had their funding cut off?

[Lindsay Branham]

Oh my gosh. I mean, people are absolutely gutted. People are trying to figure out how they can protect these vulnerable communities who rely on this assistance every single day, trying to get answers, trying to understand what the legal ramifications are in a lot of these countries. There's labor laws. You can't just stop paying people. So these organizations are at risk of legal ramifications within the local country. So I think it's important that people really understand the gravity and the concern. The USAID is full of amazing dedicated civil servants that are devastated to see the impact on people that they care about.

[Jane Coastin]

The funding pause on foreign aid is only supposed to be for 90 days. But what do you, what do these actions signal to you?

[Lindsay Branham]

I mean, the 90 day pause seems like a ruse at this point. None of us that are within this system are, are, have any trust in that process being carried out. There are no employees to conduct a 90 day review process or implement it. So I think what I really care about obviously is foreign assistance, but also what does this signal for other US Agencies to come? This agency has had bilateral support for decades. This is not political. Under every administration, programs lean kind of one way or the other based on president's priorities, but certainly not dissolved and it shouldn't be politicized.

[Jane Coastin]

Have you heard anything about the future status of your project?

[Lindsay Branham]

We are just going to continue on with the hope that we can raise private philanthropic dollars. That's a hope. We have very little hope that USAID will pull through on funding any of it at this point.

[Jane Coastin]

There's been this quiet debate going on among Democrats right now over how hard the party should fight for usaid. And I think the thinking is in some spheres of the party that most Americans don't have a direct connection to this agency. A lot of people are suspicious of foreign aid. You always see that polling, that people think that the U.S. budget is 25% spent on foreign aid, which is completely untrue, and that the public outcry is playing into Trump's plan to make it look like Democrats care about institutions and the status quo. So we shouldn't even pick this fight. What would you say to those people?

[Lindsay Branham]

I would say that this is about national security as well. If we pull out of these countries, it's kind of like what happened when the US Pulled out of Afghanistan. You leave a power vacuum and the potential for foreign security issues that will affect us as well as bio threats, epidemics, disease, global health threats if we are able to control those and influence those abroad. We prevent and protect people here. And this is a bipartisan supported institution that cannot be unilaterally dissolved. It is critical that people, both parties, stand up to the president, that the court holds account their actions. And so it's not really an issue of foreign aid or not. I mean, that's part of it, but it's also an issue of our Constitution and our democracy.

[Jane Coastin]

So we just saw some reporting from the New York Times that the Trump administration is laying off nearly the entire staff of usaid. We're just finding this out. So I assume you are too. And I'm wondering what you think about that because it really does seem like this is the end of usaid. In a lot of ways it does.

[Lindsay Branham]

But from the people that are organizing this amazing grassroots coalition of USAID people and contractors and implementing partners, we just really want to say no, we don't accept that. And I think authoritarian rule wins when we bow to that power. And so no, we will continue to do the good work that's expected that we've created relationships all around the world and we won't stand for this.

[Jane Coastin]

Lindsay, thank you so much for joining me.

[Lindsay Branham]

Thank you for having me.

[Jane Coastin]

That was my conversation with Lindsay Branham. She's a humanitarian filmmaker who's worked on USAID funded programs for 20 years. We'll link to her work in our show notes. We'll get to more of the news in a moment, but if you like the show, make sure to subscribe. Leave a five star review on Apple Podcasts, watch us on YouTube and share with your friends. More to come after some ads.

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[Jane Coastin]

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[Jane Coastin]

Here's what else we're following today.

[Lindsay Branham]

Head of Lines.

[Steve Bannon]

Elon's an engineer. He thinks of things in an engineering framework. So the work Elon's doing is very important.

[Jane Coastin]

He Steve Bannon, Trump's former White House strategist, has gone from being Elon Musk's biggest hater to his biggest fan. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal released Thursday, Bannon said that Musk is exactly what the White House needs.

[Steve Bannon]

He's already identified something we've tried to get rid of for years, the House Freedom Caucus tried to get rid of for years the usaid.

[Jane Coastin]

And as we mentioned earlier in the show, the Trump administration has been hell bent on dismantling usaid. This is a very different Bannon from the one who hurled insults at Musk in recent weeks. He's called Musk a quote, truly evil guy. He said that Musk should go back to South Africa and that white South Africans are the most racist people on earth. He even told Politico before Trump's inauguration that he doesn't think Musk has what it takes to work in the federal government.

[Steve Bannon]

What's shocking to me is he doesn't have much power.

[Lindsay Branham]

Why do you say that?

[Steve Bannon]

Well, because he doesn't have the ability to actually make decisions and inform those decisions and drive those decisions.

[Jane Coastin]

I guess he knew as little as we did anyway. Bannon's reversal seems aimed at getting Trump's attention as he competes with Musk for his favor. But Musk didn't seem impressed. He tweeted Thursday, quote, bannon is a great talker, but not a great doer. What did he get done this week? Nothing. And speaking of Musk and his important work, his Department of Government Efficiency has reportedly been using AI to find ways to cut costs at the Department of Education, According to the Washington Post, Musk's little minions have access to sensitive data within the agency, personal information about people who manage the department's finances, spending records, etc. And they're running all of it through AI to do their job for them. Musk's department told the Post that its workers are not doing anything inappropriate or nefarious, but the news has caused concern given that uploading anything to AI makes it more susceptible to leaks. Doge plans to use the technology to cut federal spending beyond the Department of Education, according to the Post. Also on Thursday, a federal judge temporarily blocks the Trump administration's fork in the road offer, extending the deadline for federal workers to decide whether or not to resign with severance or risk losing their jobs. The case to further extend the deadline will be heard on Monday. The Justice Department sued the State of Illinois, Cook county and the city of Chicago Thursday over sanctuary laws that the Trump administration says conflict with federal immigration enforcement efforts. The suit claims that multiple laws, like Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance, which bans police from making arrests based on immigration status, interfere with federal officers ability to carry out their responsibilities. The DOJ claims the laws violate the Constitution's supremacy clause. In short, the lawsuit puts pressure on Illinois to comply with President Trump's crackdown on immigration, a spokesperson for Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. pritzker said. The Trust act, the state law at issue, has always been compliant with federal law and still is today, the spokesperson said in a statement. Instead of working with us to support law enforcement, the Trump administration is making it more difficult to protect the public, just like they did when Trump pardoned the convicted January 6th violent criminals. The Grammy goes to Ah Kendrick Lamar rapper Kendrick Lamar is set to headline the halftime show at the 59th Super Bowl Sunday. Lamar is coming off five wins at the 67th Grammy Awards earlier this week, including Record of the Year for his Drake Diss track. Not like us and now there's some uncertainty about whether he can perform his mega hit at Sunday's game. Why is that? Well, remember when Drake made a couple of filings in November? In one against Universal Music Group, the parent label for both him and Lamar, he claimed it boosted the popularity of Not Like Us on streaming services. UMG denied Drake's claim, but the beef is beefing, and in January, Drake pushed it a step further by filing a defamation lawsuit against umg, accusing it of releasing Not Like Us despite its false pedophilia allegations against him. UMG once again denied the claims, according to tmz. NFL and network lawyers are probably reviewing Lamar's set list to make sure there's nothing that'll get the league in trouble with the fcc. On Sunday, TMZ said the lawyers just have to decide whether to broadcast the lyrics that allegedly defame Drake and risk a potential lawsuit. Again, he should just do Meet the Grams. And that's the news. One more thing. Sunday is the Super Bowl, America's biggest sporting event. This year's matchup will pit reigning champions the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles. There are a ton of storylines to follow. Can the Chiefs defense hold up against Eagles running back Saquon Barkley? Can the Eagles get to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes? Can the Chiefs be the first NFL team to win three Super Bowls in a row? Will every single AD be focused on sports betting? I am a football nerd. I could talk a lot about the Super Bowl. I won't. But I do want to talk about one particular Storyline Donald Trump and Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville lying for absolutely no reason about a series of events that never happened. Let's back up a bit. As you may know, before Senator Tommy Tuberville was a United States senator, he was a college football coach. He coached at Auburn University, Texas Tech University and the University of Cincinnati with varying degrees of success. Which is absolutely the nicest way I can put this in a podcast that is not actually about college football. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes played at Texas Tech from 2014 to 2016. And during a press event earlier this week for an executive order signing, we learned that Donald Trump seems to believe that Tommy Tuberville was intimately involved in Mahomes development back in college.

[Donald Trump]

And Tommy Tuberville a great coach. You know, his quarterback was named Mahomes. He was a great college coach. And I said, how good was he? He said, you don't want to know how good. He made me into a great coach. He's pretty, pretty good.

[Jane Coastin]

Only problem there. Tommy Tuberville never coached Patrick Mahomes. Tuberville had moved on to the University of Cincinnati by the time Mahomes arrived, infamously abandoning football recruits mid dinner to take the new coaching gig. Now, let's be clear. That's a totally understandable mistake for a stable genius to make who hasn't invented an entire conversation about how great a quarterback you never coached was can happen to anyone. And in a conversation with conservative podcast host Megyn Kelly on Wednesday, Tuberville himself made it clear he didn't coach Patrick Mahomes. But he says he did help get him on campus.

[Donald Trump]

I never even coached him. What happened is I recruited him and then I left and went to another school. But I've got to be very good friends with him.

[Jane Coastin]

What an amazing story. That is 100% bullshit. Because Tommy Tuberville didn't recruit Patrick Mahomes. His recruitment process at Texas Tech began a month after Tuberville left. And according to Mahomes himself, he may not have ever met Tuberville. He did not recruit me at the time, so I don't. I don't remember if I ever got to meet him or not. So in short, Tommy Tuberville and Donald Trump have collectively invented a whole Patrick Mahomes was Tommy Tuberville's greatest creation Story. The thing is, there's absolutely no shame in Tommy Tuberville not recruiting Patrick Mahomes. Most coaches didn't. Because the truly amazing thing about Patrick Mahomes incredible success in the NFL is that absolutely no one saw it coming. He was a three star recruit in high school and most people thought he was going to play baseball in college. So we didn't get a ton of college offers to play football. Which means this entire story is a lie told and repeated for absolutely no reason. A lesson for us all before we go. Right now, all t shirts are 20% off at the crooked store. We wish T shirts like Leave trans kids alone, you absolute freaks and don't mess with immigrants were not so relevant right now. But unfortunately they are and they will be for the foreseeable future. Take advantage of 20% off to stock up on gear that reminds you what we're fighting for. Head to Cricut.com store to shop before the sale ends. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, debate whether cocaine is no worse than whiskey as argued by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just about how Petro argued that cocaine is only illegal because it's made in Latin America, which seems questionable to me. Like me, what a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and [e-mail] subscribe I'm Jane Coston, and we're learning all so many things every day. Water Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producers are Raven Yamamoto and Emily Foer. Our producer is Michelle Aloy. We had production help today from Johanna Case, Joseph Dutra, Greg Walters and Julia Claire. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison and our executive producer is Adrienne Hill. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East.