U.S. International relations and foreign policy 20 January 2025-

19 January
Scores of career State Dept. diplomats resign before Trump’s inauguration
Trump’s team requested the high-level resignations as the president-elect prepares a sharp break with the Biden administration.
5 February
Why Do We Need USAID? Stephen Colbert Talks To Samantha Power, Fmr. USAID Administrator
18 February
Eugene Robinson: America’s new foreign policy: Who cares?
The Trump administration shows little concern for allies or adversaries
After four disorienting weeks, the Trump administration’s foreign policy has become crystal clear: Screw the rest of the world, allies and adversaries alike.
Who cares if Russian dictator Vladimir Putin gets to keep the wide swath of Ukraine’s territory he seized in a brutal, unprovoked invasion? Why should the Ukrainians even be at the table when we talk to the Russians about a peace deal? After all, President Donald Trump promised to quickly end the war; he and Putin can decide the terms. Maybe the United States would be more concerned about Ukraine’s sovereignty if we were given half of the country’s valuable mineral resources. Does that make us sound like mobsters running a protection racket? Well, the world is a tough place.
Who cares if the newly contemptuous U.S. stance toward the democracies of Europe makes them feel abandoned and vulnerable? Who cares if the leaders of wealthy, technologically advanced nations such as Britain, France, Germany and Italy — effectively demilitarized, beneath the U.S. umbrella, since the apocalypse of World War II — decide they now have no choice but to massively rearm? What if Europe is soon bristling with weapons, and what if Putin sees this buildup as a threat? What could possibly go wrong?

Vance’s posturing in Greenland was not just morally wrong. It was strategically disastrous
Timothy Snyder
Thanks to Trump’s administration, the US could soon have to fight wars to get things that, just a few weeks ago, were there for the asking
(The Guardian) The American vice-president, JD Vance, visited a US base in Greenland for three hours on Friday [28 March], along with his wife. National security adviser Mike Waltz and his wife also went along. …
The overall context was Trump’s persistent claim that America must take Greenland, which is an autonomous region of Denmark. The original plan had been that Usha Vance would visit Greenlanders, but none of them wanted to see her, and Greenland’s businesses refused to serve as a backdrop to photo ops or even to serve the uninvited Americans. So, instead, the US couples made a very quick visit to Pituffik space base. …
At the base, in the far north of the island, the US visitors had pictures taken of themselves and ate lunch with servicemen and women. They treated the base as the backdrop to a press conference where they could say things they already thought; nothing was experienced, nothing was learned, nothing sensible was said. Vance, who never left the base, and has never before visited Greenland, was quite sure how Greenlanders should live. He made a political appeal to Greenlanders, none of whom was present, or anywhere near him. He claimed that Denmark was not protecting the security of Greenlanders in the Arctic, and that the US would. Greenland should therefore join the US.
23 March
Greenland officials express fury over Trump’s plan to send a delegation.
(NYT) Relations between Greenland and the United States sank further on Sunday as the Greenlandic prime minister erupted over what he called a “highly aggressive” delegation of senior officials the Trump administration said it would send to the island this week.
Usha Vance, the second lady, and Michael Waltz, the national security adviser, are among the officials headed to the island, which is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, though President Trump has vowed to make it part of the United States “one way or the other.”

15-22 March
Voice of America journalists sue Trump officials for dismantling the outlet
The lawsuit asks a federal judge to order Trump administration officials to restore the outlet.
(WaPo) The complaint argues that the president violated the First Amendment by dismantling the media organization and exceeded his authority in violation of the Constitution. Congress, which created and funds USAGM, has sole authority over the agency, the complaint said.
Six Voice of America journalists — including the outlet’s former White House bureau chief — sued members of the Trump administration Friday, accusing officials of unlawfully shuttering a federally funded media outlet that has delivered news coverage to millions across the globe since its founding during World War II.
The Voice of America (VOA) journalists were joined by Reporters Without Borders and four labor organizations in the lawsuit that named USAGM acting CEO Victor Morales and Kari Lake, special adviser to the agency, as defendants.
The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, asks a federal judge to order officials to restore the outlet, effectively reversing part of President Donald Trump’s executive order issued earlier this month that dismantled the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM). The agency oversees Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting and Radio Free Asia.
VOA — which broadcasts in 49 different languages — was founded by the federal government in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda, according to the outlet’s webpage. VOA and its sister networks practice a form of soft diplomacy, telling stories about democracy in countries where press freedom is limited or nonexistent.
Chinese state media revel in demise of Voice of America, Radio Free Asia
Shutdown of US-funded news outlets ends more than 80 years of uncensored news broadcasts in China
The silencing of Voice of America
How the shuttering of a small US-funded news outlet explains Trump’s governing philosophy.
(Vox)The media remarked on the loss of Voice of America, but it didn’t quite cause the stir that firings at USAID or the Department of Education did, and that’s perhaps because it does not broadcast inside the US. Americans can visit its website for news, but can’t hear it on the radio or see it on television.
Labor unions representing government workers and journalists have sued the Trump administration over its silencing of Voice of America, a U.S. government-supported broadcaster that had long delivered news to millions around the globe. Now its frequencies have gone dark or carry music.
15 March
Voice of America channels fall silent as Trump administration guts agency and cancels contracts
Even top editors at VOA have been ordered to stop working, so employees expect the broadcaster’s worldwide news coverage to grind to a halt
“The Voice of America has been silenced, at least for now.”

19 March
Trump aides circulate plan for complete revamp of foreign aid programs
The proposal provides new details on how the administration plans to overhaul USAID — and what programs it expects to eliminate.

DOGE official takes a leadership role at USAID, an agency Musk’s team has helped dismantle
(AP) — A senior official at Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is taking a leadership role at the U.S. Agency for International Development, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press, giving DOGE a top job at an agency that it has helped to dismantle.
Jeremy Lewin, who has played a central role in DOGE’s government-cutting efforts at USAID and other federal agencies, becomes at least the second DOGE lieutenant to be appointed to a top job at an agency during the Trump administration, further formalizing the work of Musk’s associates in the federal government.
Pete Marocco, a Trump administration political appointee who was serving as deputy head of USAID, disclosed the change in an email Tuesday to State Department staff. It comes after Marocco and DOGE oversaw the gutting of 83% of USAID contracts, shifting the remaining programs under the State Department.
12 March
Trump aid freeze decimates UN food agency: ‘It’s catastrophic.’
Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization suspends projects after U.S. stops $300M a year in funding.
(Politico Eu) Aid projects in crisis-hit countries from Afghanistan to the Horn of Africa have been suspended and staffing cut after President Donald Trump froze hundreds of millions in annual U.S. funding to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, according to internal FAO documents and employees who spoke to POLITICO.
The cuts are expected to deepen food insecurity in multiple regions already suffering from climate shocks, conflict and economic instability, aid experts warn. Halting the FAO’s agricultural support could have long-term consequences, making vulnerable communities even more dependent on emergency food aid.
The cuts — part of a broader freeze on aid administered through the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department — mirror moves already hitting other U.N. agencies like the World Food Programme [WFP], which has seen office closures and drastic ration reductions worldwide.
… While the cuts at the WFP, which could result in billions of dollars in lost funding, have made headlines — including the closure of its southern Africa office in Johannesburg and halving of rations for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh — the FAO’s challenges have played out more quietly.
The two agencies often act together — the FAO provides technical assistance, policy support and promotes agricultural practices to help farmers grow food, whereas the WFP distributes food in times of crisis. While the WFP’s high-profile emergency work draws public attention, the FAO’s behind-the-scenes role in policy and agricultural support tends to keep it out of the spotlight.
10 March
Secretary of State Rubio says purge of USAID programs complete, with 83% of agency’s programs gone
(AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the Trump administration had finished its six-week purge of programs of the six-decade-old U.S. Agency for International Development, cutting 83% of them, and said he would move the remaining aid programs under the State Department.
Hours later, a federal judge said President Donald Trump had overstepped his authority in shutting down most foreign assistance, saying the administration could no longer simply sit on the billions of dollars that Congress had provided for foreign aid. But Judge Amir H. Ali stopped short of ordering Trump officials to use the money to revive the thousands of terminated program contracts.
Rubio made his announcement Monday in a post on X, in one of his few public comments on what has been a historic shift away from U.S. foreign aid and development, executed by Trump political appointees at State and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency teams.

5 March
Trump and Vance Shattered Europe’s Illusions About America
The Rise of the Brutal American
This is how the bad guys act.
By Anne Applebaum
(The Atlantic) I happened to be at gatherings in three European cities over the past several days, and everywhere I went, everyone wanted to talk about the Oval Office performance last Friday. Europeans needed some time to process this event, not just because of what it told them about the war in Ukraine, but because of what it told them about America, a country they thought they knew well.
In just a few minutes, the behavior of Donald Trump and J. D. Vance created a brand-new stereotype for America: not the quiet American, not the ugly American, but the brutal American. Whatever illusions Europeans ever had about Americans—whatever images lingered from old American movies, the ones where the good guys win, the bad guys lose, and honor defeats treachery—those are shattered. Whatever fond memories remain of the smiling GIs who marched into European cities in 1945, of the speeches that John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan made at the Berlin Wall, or of the crowds that once welcomed Barack Obama, those are also fading fast.

28 February
The Dark Heart of Trump’s Foreign Policy
Ezra Klein with Fareed Zakaria
If you’re looking for a single-sentence summation of the change in America’s foreign policy under Donald Trump, you could do worse than what Trump said on Wednesday:
“The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States. That’s the purpose of it. And they’ve done a good job of it. But now I’m president.”
Trump seems to loathe America’s traditional European allies even as he warms relations with Russia. He’s threatened tariffs on Canada and Mexico while softening his rhetoric on China. And he seems fixated on the idea of territorial expansion — whether it’s the Panama Canal, Greenland or even Gaza.
There is a “Trump doctrine” emerging here. It’s one that could be glimpsed dimly in Trump’s first term but is exploding to the fore in his second. What will it mean for the world? What will it mean for the United States?
Brooks and Capehart on the implications of Trump’s altercation with Zelenskyy and much more, including President Trump’s public spat with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, if Europe can depend on the U.S., and new restrictions on the White House press corps.

27 February
Evan Soloman: Make America … Alone?
Is the free world lost without America, or is America lost without the free world?
(GZERO North) In less than five weeks, Trump has upended the postwar world order, forcing America’s longtime allies to redraw their maps, literally in the case of the Gulf of Mexico/America and strategically in every other way. It is a new world
… This past week at the UN, the US sided with Russia, Belarus, and North Korea against a resolution to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion. “This war is far more important to Europe than it is to us,” Trump said as he moved the US further away from its longtime allies. “We have a big, beautiful ocean as separation.”
Separation. That is the watchword of the moment. The Trump revolution that is meant to Make America Great Again is making America Alone and for the very first time.
… Russia and China are cheering on this new alignment because it comes at a cheap price. Both are poised to test the limits of a world without US guardrails, a world where there is no global cop on the beat to enforce the rule of law. Watch to see how China moves to expand its influence in the South China Sea, around Japan and the Philippines, and, of course, Taiwan. Russia is already clamoring to digest 20% of Ukraine, with Trump’s blessing. Does anyone think that’s enough to satisfy Putin’s imperialist appetite?
Donald Trump has begun a mafia-like struggle for global power
Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-chief
…the inspiration for this week’s Economist cover design is “Reservoir Dogs”, a gangster film from 1992. Donald Trump has assumed the role of kingpin; behind him are some of the main players in a new, mafia-like struggle for global power. Call it The Don’s new world order, a might-is-right world in which big powers cut deals and bully small ones. In a week in which Germany’s probable next chancellor warned that NATO may soon be dead and America sided with Russia and North Korea against Ukraine and Europe at the United Nations, we decided to take a hard look at what this new gangster-style approach to geopolitics would lead to.
Team Trump claims that its dealmaking will bring peace and that, after 80 years of being taken for a ride, America will turn its superpower status into profit. Our leader argues that it will instead make the world more dangerous, and America weaker and poorer. Advocates of dealmaking assume that America can get what it wants by bargaining. Yet as Mr Trump exploits decades-old dependencies, America’s leverage will rapidly fall away. Congress, financial markets or voters could yet persuade him to walk back. But the world has already started planning for a lawless era.

Trump administration says it’s cutting 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts
[Trump and Musk] have hit foreign aid harder and faster than almost any other target in their push to cut the size of the federal government. Both men say USAID projects advance a liberal agenda and are a waste of money. Trump on Jan. 20 ordered what he said would be a 90-day program-by-program review of which foreign assistance programs deserved to continue, and cut off all foreign assistance funds almost overnight.
(AP) — The Trump administration said it is eliminating more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance around the world, putting numbers on its plans to eliminate the majority of U.S. development and humanitarian help abroad.
The cuts detailed by the administration would leave few surviving USAID projects for advocates to try to save in what are ongoing court battles with the administration.
The Trump administration outlined its plans in both an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press and filings in one of those federal lawsuits Wednesday.
The Supreme Court…temporarily blocked a court order requiring the administration to release billions of dollars in foreign aid by midnight.
Wednesday’s disclosures also give an idea of the scale of the administration’s retreat from U.S. aid and development assistance overseas, and from decades of U.S. policy that foreign aid helps U.S. interests by stabilizing other countries and economies and building alliances.

26 February
How Trump and Biden’s Focus on Minerals Became Core to U.S. Foreign Policy
China dominates in critical minerals, and President Trump has turned to high-pressure tactics to acquire them.
(NYT) Mr. Trump’s recent comments on Ukraine’s assets were not the first time in his new term that he has mentioned taking over a country’s mineral holdings.
The president has talked about acquiring minerals in Greenland and Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada told a group of business leaders that Mr. Trump’s focus on Canada’s minerals meant his threats to annex the country were “a real thing.”
17 February
Why Quebec’s critical minerals might be behind Trump’s annexation talk
By Jacob Serebrin
(Montreal Gazette) President Trump’s intense interest in Ukraine’s minerals seemed to come from out of the blue.
He dispatched his Treasury secretary to Kyiv this month to negotiate with Ukraine’s leader, then began ratcheting up the pressure publicly in what appeared to critics like a Mafia don’s extortion scheme.
“I want security of the rare earth,” he said.
But critical minerals have been on Mr. Trump’s mind since at least 2017, when he signed an executive order on them during his first term. They also caught the attention of President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Donald Trump’s repeated comments about annexing Canada may be related to his interest in getting access to the country’s critical minerals, Prime Minster Justin Trudeau suggested last week. The U.S. president has repeatedly mused about making Canada his country’s 51st state and the comments come as his administration has shown an interest in natural resources, like the critical minerals used in a wide range of technologies.

25 February
Trump the Capitulator
Carl Bildt, a former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden
Like the leaders of major European powers in 1938, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are adamant that the smaller sovereign power at the center of a dispute not be included in talks about its own future. Under such favorable circumstances, the Kremlin has every reason to press maximal demands.

Trump’s Ukraine Mineral Deal Is Seen as ‘Protection Racket’ Diplomacy
The United States wants to be paid in exchange for helping the country fend off an invader.
(NYT) Mr. Trump has long demanded that NATO and other allies contribute more to their own defense. But the minerals agreement would represent a major escalation in his transactional approach to foreign policy. The United States was once seen as the world’s policeman, but to many analysts it now seems more like an extortionate Mafia kingpin.
Experts cannot recall a precedent for the United States, or any other country, extracting cash or resources from its own allies during a time of war. They say Mr. Trump’s transactional diplomacy sends a message to allies that the United States cannot be trusted to help its friends or honor its obligations. And it tells his adversaries that he is willing to give up long-term strategic interests for short-term wins, experts say.

24 February
Three Years Into War in Ukraine, Trump Ushers in New World for Putin
(NYT) Gone are the statements from the East Room of the White House about the United States standing up to bullies, supporting democracy over autocracy and ensuring freedom will prevail.
Gone, too, is Washington’s united front against Russia with its European allies, many of whom have begun to wonder if the new American administration will protect them against a revanchist Moscow, or even keep troops in Europe at all.
UN general assembly backs resolution condemning Russia for Ukraine war
(WaPo) The U.N. votes came as Trump met at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron for bilateral talks and a virtual meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, and prepared for a Thursday visit from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Both Britain and France voted for the Ukraine-sponsored resolution and the French-sponsored amendments to the U.S. measure in the General Assembly.

19 February
A Cautionary Tale for Trump Appointees
The evidence of the past few days suggests that they are all deluding themselves.
By David Frum
(The Atlantic) … Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Saudi Arabia pretending to be in charge of negotiations between the U.S. and Russia over the fate of Ukraine. Rubio is the perfect fall guy for this assignment. Confirmed as secretary of state by a 99–0 vote, he’s won praise from all sides for his commitment to American institutions and values.
Meanwhile, the real decisions are being made elsewhere. Trump yesterday blamed Ukraine for starting the war with Russia. From the Oval Office, he is preparing a deal to give Russia the victory over Ukraine that it failed to win on the battlefield. The contemplated Trump deal would surrender Ukrainian territory to Russia and bar Ukraine from ever joining NATO. Trump wants an early end to sanctions on Russia, another unilateral U.S. concession to Putin. Yesterday, Trump accepted the Russian position that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should have to face reelection before peace talks begin. Again, no such demand is being made of Putin.
Trump has demanded half a trillion dollars in economic concessions from Ukraine. If Ukraine says yes, its economic recovery will be wrecked before it starts. If, more realistically, Ukraine refuses, then Trump has gained his pretext for cutting Ukraine off from future U.S. security assistance. Meanwhile, Vice President J. D. Vance has scolded America’s NATO allies for trying to police the disinformation pumped out by Trump’s largest donor and de facto co-president, Elon Musk. Both Vance and Musk are outspoken opponents of Ukraine’s fight for survival. Trump is even considering a Russian invitation to join Putin in Moscow to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Russian “Victory Day” over Nazi Germany, which will now also symbolize Putin’s own victory over Ukraine and NATO. …

18 February
U.S. and Russia Pursue Partnership in a Head-Spinning Shift in Relations
(NYT) The two sides met in Saudi Arabia for their most extensive discussions in years. In addition to Ukraine, business ties were on the table.
Trump says Zelensky ‘should have never started’ war with Russia

17 February
The Marco Rubio Guide to Survival Is Not Working Well
The secretary of State is taking positions that were once anathema and sounding very Trumpy online.
(Politico Magazine) … It wasn’t until after Democrats on Capitol Hill warned Rubio that the aid freeze — a key piece of which he’d released under his name — would literally kill people that he announced waivers for “life-saving” assistance. Democratic lawmakers and their aides familiar with those conversations wondered whether Rubio truly understood what he was signing off on. (And he’s had trouble implementing those waivers in part because most of USAID’s staff was put on leave.) Rubio has also lost credibility with his own workforce, which could make it harder for him to implement future policies.
The irony is, many current and former U.S. diplomats say they would support reforms to the unwieldy bureaucracies of USAID and State — if handled differently. But Rubio hasn’t overseen a thoughtful, targeted reform process that one might expect from a former lawmaker who spent significant time learning about how U.S. foreign policy is made. …
Even as USAID is upended, Rubio is preparing to allow upheaval at the State Department. A person familiar with internal discussions at State — granted anonymity because they lacked permission to talk to media — said Rubio is on board with at least a 20 percent staff cut and possibly closing a large number of embassies.

15 February
JD Vance’s Munich speech laid bare the collapse of the transatlantic alliance
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
The US vice-president was hypocritical and insensitive, but bracingly clear in his resetting of relationships
(The Guardian) Sometimes, even in this digital age, speeches can act as clarifiers. Yes, the 22 minutes were full of laughable hypocrisy, distorted portraits of European democracy and insensitivity to Europe’s trauma with fascism, but for what it said about the chasm in values between most in Europe and the Trump administration, it was hard to overlook.
The shock was in part because the [Munich Security Conference] traditionally tends to talk about the polarisation of populism, as opposed to invite a populist to speak. The organisers had expected a dissertation on Ukraine, but instead got the full populist pulpit, and therefore something more significant.
The speech signalled that the pre-existing dispute between Europe and the US was no longer to do with the sharing of the military burdens, or the nature of the future security threat posed by Russia, but something more fundamental about society.

Heather Cox Richardson February 12, 2025
Today saw a landmark shift in the foreign policy of the United States. Since World War II, the U.S. has stood behind the international organizations that worked to stabilize the globe by creating spaces for countries to work out their differences without resorting to war. Among the principles of those organizations was that bigger countries couldn’t simply take over other, smaller countries, and one of the ways countries enforced that principle was through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the collective security agreement in which signatories agreed that an attack on one would be an attack on all.
In 2016, Trump’s people weakened the U.S. stance against Russia’s incursions on Ukraine by softening the language of that year’s Republican platform, and Russia worked to help Trump get elected, apparently because Putin believed Trump would look the other way as Russia took not only Ukraine’s Crimea but also significant territory in eastern Ukraine. Then, in his first term in office, Trump often took Putin’s side and threatened to take the U.S. out of NATO.
…when he took office just three weeks ago, Trump alarmed observers by suddenly talking about taking over other countries like Panama and Canada, and Denmark’s territory of Greenland. Such moves would directly undermine the post–World War II international organizations the U.S. has always championed. They would destroy NATO and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a joint U.S.-Canadian organization that protects North America from aerospace threats, and would also rip apart the Five Eyes intelligence alliance that has joined Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States since World War II.
Trump’s Americas Doctrine Starts at the Canal
Rubio’s inaugural trip to Panama builds on longstanding concerns, stakes out US terms, and puts China on notice.
By Joseph Ledford
(Hoover Institution) … Most worrisome to American policy makers, however, Hutchison Ports, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong–based CK Hutchison Holdings, has since 1997 operated the ports of Balboa—located at the canal’s Pacific entrance—and Cristóbal—situated at the Atlantic entryway, which services roughly 40 percent of the cargo containers traversing the canal into Panamanian docks, often picked up by another ship due to drought restrictions. In 2021, Hutchison obtained a twenty-five-year renewal for its enterprise. …
The canal problem is a decade in the making, and it will not be resolved in a week. Rather, Mulino will draw increasingly closer to the United States as he orchestrates a decoupling from China. In doing so, Mulino must navigate Panamanian politics, for which the Trump administration should be willing to overlook Mulino’s nationalist sensibilities. Shared interests will eventually produce a mutually agreeable outcome: America wants a sovereign and secure canal, and Panama wants to administer a sovereign and secure canal.

Trump and Putin Agree to Ukraine Talks in US Policy Reversal
Trump says they’ll meet soon, probably in Saudi Arabia
(Bloomberg) President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to start negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, sweeping aside three years of US policy and blindsiding European allies who feared the more conciliatory American stance amounted to a giveaway to the Russian leader.
Hours earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told NATO allies the US wouldn’t contribute troops to secure a peace, called eventual NATO membership for Ukraine unrealistic and said Ukraine would probably have to accept the loss of some territory.
Ukraine and Europe must be part of negotiations and Kyiv should be provided with strong security guarantees, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the UK, Spain and the European Union said in a statement. A just and lasting peace is a necessary condition for strong transatlantic security, they added.
New Trump Executive Order Calls for ‘Reform’ to the U.S. Diplomatic Corps
“Failure to faithfully implement the president’s policy is grounds for professional discipline, including separation,” the order says.
(NYT) President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday calling for “reform” to the Foreign Service, America’s corps of professional diplomats, “to ensure faithful and effective implementation” of his foreign policy agenda.
… Mr. Trump’s order, titled “One Voice for America’s Foreign Relations,” directs the secretary of state to “implement reforms in recruiting, performance, evaluation and retention standards.” It also directs officials to “revise or replace the Foreign Affairs Manual,” along with “any handbooks, procedures or guidance” governing diplomacy.

3-7 February
Judge temporarily blocks Trump from placing 2,200 USAid workers on leave
Forced leaves had already begun when ruling came through, as workers tried to halt dismantling of agency
Falsehoods Fuel the Right-Wing Crusade Against U.S.A.I.D.
As the Trump administration works to dismantle the aid agency, right-wing influencers have flooded the internet with falsehoods about its work.
Government workers sue Trump and Rubio over ‘catastrophic’ USAid cuts
Lawsuit seeks order blocking ‘unconstitutional and illegal actions’ that have created ‘global humanitarian crisis’
(The Guardian) The largest US government workers’ union and an association of foreign service workers sued the Trump administration on Thursday in an effort to reverse its aggressive dismantling of the US Agency for International Development.
The lawsuit, filed in Washington, DC federal court by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Foreign Service Association, seeks an order blocking what it says are “unconstitutional and illegal actions” that have created a “global humanitarian crisis”.
President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are among the named defendants, but the text of the suit focuses extensively on actions, and statements on social media, by Elon Musk and his “department of government efficiency” initiative.
Forced leaves start for thousands at USAID under a Trump plan to gut the foreign aid agency
A group of a half-dozen USAID officials speaking to reporters Friday strongly disputed assertions from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the most essential life-saving programs abroad were getting waivers to continue. With all but several hundred staffers forced out and funding stopped, the agency has “ceased to exist,” one official on the call said.
What’s up with USAID?
Since its founding in 1961, it’s been Washington’s primary tool for delivering humanitarian aid and supporting economic development worldwide. The agency now…
Has a workforce of 10,000 (two-thirds overseas)
Manages a $43B aid budget
Focuses particularly on governance, and
Sends the most assistance to (in order) Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan, DR Congo, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Syria.
(International Intrigue) Since its founding in 1961, it’s been Washington’s primary tool for delivering humanitarian aid and supporting economic development worldwide.…
It’s faced its fair share of foreign criticism over the years, with governments variously accusing it of meddling in local politics, and even providing cover for the CIA.
Then in the 2000s, folks questioned some of the new US aid bodies springing up again, and various DC think tanks revived the idea of dismantling or merging USAID into State.
It’s not a new idea abroad, either — Australia folded its own aid agency into its foreign ministry back in 2013, inspiring the UK to follow suit in 2020. Both mergers were similarly about cutting costs and better aligning aid with the national interest, though they were also controversial, with impacts still being felt today (eg, a loss of institutional expertise).
…is the US now about to make a mistake?
DC has spent generations building foreign aid as a soft power tool, delivering food, vaccines, and school books in bags labelled From the American People. It’s made the US the world’s largest donor, generating goodwill (and therefore influence) along the way.
But 77 million Americans also just voted for Donald Trump’s vision, including less waste, and a clearer America First focus. And as with any large organisation, you can bet this new review will uncover examples of USAID breaching some of these principles.
But there’s also a risk that, in pursuing one legitimate set of objectives, these aid reforms might disrupt others (like the US effectiveness, goodwill, and influence built up over decades). It ultimately depends a lot on the execution, which the UK and Australian experiences suggest ain’t easy.
And that’s also leading some to wonder… will this cede space to Beijing?
The Death of USAID
A pillar of US foreign policy comes crashing down
Mark Leon Goldberg
(Global Dispatches) Economies in poorer countries with which USAID has partnered may also start to suffer. USAID works with governments, NGOs, and businesses in countries friendly to the United States to help build market economies, support energy systems, boost agricultural productivity, and implement other activities designed to foster self-reliance and resilience against economic shocks—all while making these markets more attractive for foreign investment.
The United States also contributes about four out of every 10 dollars committed to humanitarian relief in crises. These include man-made disasters like Gaza and Sudan and natural disasters like droughts, earthquakes, and hurricanes. USAID is a dominant funder in this sector, sometimes directly through its Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs), but mostly by supporting major international NGOs and smaller local NGOs that provide aid in times of crisis.
Perhaps the most insidious impact of USAID’s death will be on the aid sector itself. Aid and development have become a highly specialized field, populated by thousands of professionals who have gained hard-earned expertise in responding to humanitarian crises, supporting economic and social development in poorer countries, providing health care in war zones, and fighting infectious diseases.
… Even if a future administration were somehow to restore USAID, the damage done to the entire aid sector may be permanent. The companies, NGOs, and individuals with technical know-how may be lost forever. …the death of USAID will have seismic geopolitical consequences as well, as one pillar of American foreign policy comes swiftly and suddenly crashing down.
What is USAID? Explaining the US foreign aid agency and why Trump and Musk want to end it
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, has launched a sweeping effort empowered by Trump to fire government workers and cut trillions in government spending. USAID is one of his prime targets. Musk alleges USAID funding been used to launch deadly programs and called it a “criminal organization.”
What is being affected by the USAID freeze?
Sub-Saharan Africa could suffer more than any other region during the aid pause. The U.S. gave the region more than $6.5 billion in humanitarian assistance last year. HIV patients in Africa arriving at clinics funded by an acclaimed U.S. program that helped rein in the global AIDS epidemic of the 1980s found locked doors.
There are also already ramifications in Latin America. In Mexico, a busy shelter for migrants in southern Mexico has been left without a doctor. A program to provide mental health support for LGBTQ+ youth fleeing Venezuela was disbanded.
In Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Guatemala, so-called “Safe Mobility Offices” where migrants can apply to enter the U.S. legally have shuttered.
[US aid was long a lifeline for Eastern Europe. Trump cuts are sending shockwaves through the region]
The aid community is struggling to get the full picture—how many thousands of programs have shut down and how many thousands of workers were furloughed and laid off under the freeze?
In all, the U.S. spent about roughly $40 billion in foreign aid in the 2023 fiscal year, according to a report published last month by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
The U.S. is the largest provider of humanitarian assistance globally, although some other countries spend a bigger share of their budget on it. Foreign assistance overall amounts to less than 1% of the U.S. budget.
Marco Rubio taking over as acting head of USAID amid agency turmoil
(The Hill) Rubio told reporters traveling with him in El Salvador that he had been made acting director of USAID, which has for decades administered humanitarian and development assistance around the world.
“There are a lot of functions of USAID that are going to continue, that are going to be part of American foreign policy, but it has to be aligned with American foreign policy,” Rubio said.
Trump told reporters Sunday that USAID had been run “by radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out, and then we’ll make a decision.” The president previously signed an executive order freezing foreign assistance.

1 February
The Price America Will Pay for Trump’s Tariffs
Alienating allies and partners that the U.S. desperately needs means that “America First” will be “America Alone.”
By David Frum
Trump is single-handedly reneging on 80 years of American work to persuade others to trust and rely on the United States. He is remodeling the international image of the U.S. after himself: impulsive, self-seeking, short-sighted, and untrustworthy. First-term Trump might have been dismissed as an aberration, brought to office by a fluke of America’s archaic Electoral College. A returned Trump, this time empowered by a genuine popular-vote victory, cannot be so readily dismissed. He obviously represents something deep in American politics, something likely enduring, something that other countries must take into account.

27 January
Ian Bremmer: How Trump’s assertive foreign policy impacts international relations
So Trump is going out there, and he’s saying all these extraordinary, extravagant things. Huge exaggerations about what he demands and what he wants. …you’re not allowed to do the same thing that Trump is. It’s not just about who’s right, it’s also about who’s powerful.
… There’ve been some leaks. But in general it’s been very careful both from Denmark and all of the Nordic leaders I’ve spoken to, they’ve been very, very careful. Nothing public about the challenges that they’re having. Of course, privately completely unacceptable that the United States would make demands of Greenland and wouldn’t work through a very stalwart, though small, ally. The Danes who do everything the Americans ask in terms of coordinating on military exercises and providing multilateral support when the Americans want more participation in different wars or humanitarian support. You name it, the Danes are there. But that didn’t matter to Trump. He said, “I want Greenland.”
White House says Colombia agrees to take deported migrants after Trump tariff showdown
(AP) — The White House claimed victory in a showdown with Colombia over accepting flights of deported migrants from the U.S. on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions on the longtime U.S. partner.
The goal of U.S. foreign policy becomes forcing other countries to submit and accept American dominance, friend and foe alike. International agreements and bilateral arrangements with allies needlessly tie America’s hands.
Mark Leon Goldberg
(Global Dispatches) … We saw this on display this weekend, when Trump threatened sanctions and tariffs on Colombia, by far America’s staunchest ally in Latin America, for refusing landing rights to a US military plane of Colombians being deported from the United States. Trump’s response was swift and furious: he threatened individual sanctions against President Gustavo Petro and huge tariffs on Colombian exports. Petro fired back with a lengthy statement laden with his own threats of counter-tariffs. But in the end, Petro relented. The deportation flights to Colombia are resuming.
Trump opted to use the full weight of America’s current economic might to bully a weaker ally, and it worked. We can probably expect similar threats against Panama and Denmark as part of his quixotic (but genuine) attempts to control the Panama Canal and Greenland. And he is doing this all while pulling out of multilateral organizations like the World Health Organization and the internationally popular Paris Agreement.

26 January
Trump floats reversing decision to leave WHO
President Donald Trump late Saturday said he may consider rejoining the World Health Organization — days after signing an executive order announcing America’s intention to leave.
Trump ordered a U.S. exit from the WHO on Monday, citing what he described as a mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and other international health crises. It is Trump’s second attempt at withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO.

18-26 January
Nothing Is Normal in Nuuk These Day
(The Atlantic) Watching Donald Trump from the future state of Greenland
By Mark Leibovich
How Greenland feels about Trump, explained by a Greenlander
(Vox) Greenland: not for sale, but open for business.
… The renewed fervor behind Trump’s push to acquire Greenland is driven, at least in part, by its clear geopolitical significance. Greenland rests amid major shipping routes that have become increasingly important as its ice sheet melts and new trade routes emerge, and it sits above major deposits of oil, gas, and rare earth minerals that are essential to everyday technologies.
Greenland is also at the forefront of an ongoing Arctic power struggle as Russia and China increase their trade, mining, and military presence in the region.
Trump again demands to buy Greenland in ‘horrendous’ call with Danish PM
Source says: ‘The Danes are in crisis mode’ after US president’s call with prime minister Mette Frederiksen
Trump Triggers a Crisis in Denmark—And Europe
(The Atlantic) What a single phone call from the president-elect did to an unswerving American ally
By Anne Applebaum

24 January
State Department issues immediate, widespread pause on foreign aid
The “stop-work orders” appear to apply to US aid for all countries except Israel and Egypt.
(Politico) Secretary of State Marco Rubio halted spending Friday on most existing foreign aid grants for 90 days. The order, which shocked State Department officials, appears to apply to funding for military assistance to Ukraine.
Rubio’s guidance, issued to all diplomatic and consular posts, requires department staffers to issue “stop-work orders” on nearly all “existing foreign assistance awards,” according to the document, which was obtained by POLITICO. It is effective immediately.
Wang tells Rubio leaders have set tone and direction of US-China ties
First call between top diplomats in new Trump administration
Wang tells Rubio ‘I hope you would conduct yourself well’
Says heads of state have ‘pointed out the direction’ of ties
(Reuters) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday and Beijing said he told the known China hawk that the direction and tone of U.S.-China ties had been set by their leaders and he hoped Rubio would play a constructive role for the good of the people of both countries.
“The Secretary also stressed the United States’ commitment to our allies in the region and serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan and in the South China Sea,” a State Department statement said.

23 January
A man, a plan, a canal: Rubio’s first trip as secretary of state will take him to Panama
(NBC) Marco Rubio will head overseas late next week; he’s also scheduled to visit Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
Saudi Arabia intends to invest $600 billion in US, crown prince says during call with Trump
(AP) — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said Thursday the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion in the United States over the next four years, comments that came after President Donald Trump earlier put a price tag on returning to the kingdom as his first foreign trip.

22 January
Falsehoods, Boasts and Bravado: The Surreal Launch of the Second Trump Presidency
By Jeremy Kinsman
(Policy) … He ditches foreign policy premises that have guided the US, and by extension, the “free world,” since the Second World War, including the US role as (The Economist leader, Jan 18) “indispensable defender of a world made more stable and benign by democracy, settled borders, and universal values.”
Trump again announced US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change.
He declared America will use “the strongest military ever seen” in the interests of greater US security and prosperity, untethered by bothersome democratic values. During his presidency US “wars will end,” as he plays the role of global “peacemaker and unifier.”
How does he reconcile this lofty goal with his threat of forceful re-acquisition of the Panama Canal or Greenland, and with his threat to use “economic force” to integrate Canada fully with the US economy, abandoning its history as a sovereign state?
It seems clear that he intends “Make America Great Again” to mean “Make America Bigger.”
… European contacts noted that, in his inaugural rants, Trump didn’t mention any allies, or even essential global cooperative causes. Trump’s America seems prepared to live without basic friends, though right-wing inaugural invitees (Orban of Hungary, Meloni of Italy, Millei of Argentina) telegraphed his essential affinities.
Trump’s backward gaze has landed on an unlikely political muse, presidential predecessor (1897-1901) William McKinley, who expanded US territory in the spirit of America’s 19th century Manifest Destiny and the Monroe Doctrine. A largely fabricated 1898 war against Spain won the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam, while the US also took Hawaii, extended US possession of Indian and Mexican lands in the West, and designed a Panama Canal.
McKinley is the predecessor who adored tariffs, to finance the US Treasury (before the adoption in 1913 of generalized income tax). He chummed around with the era’s “robber barons,” comparable to Trump’s “tech bros” who had pride of place at the inaugural. McKinley’s assassination on September 6, 1901 by an anarchist, probably sealed his role as model for the man who claimed before his inaugural audience that he was “saved by God to make America great again.

20 January
What to know about Trump’s day-one promise to take back the Panama Canal
(New Atlanticist) In a clear sign that his vocal concerns about the Panama Canal had not abated, Trump devoted nearly two full paragraphs to Panama, saying that “Panama’s promise to us has been broken” and that “China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.” Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino swiftly responded with an official statement reiterating Panama’s sovereignty over the canal.
The canal is operated by the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous government entity, which is in charge of the operation, maintenance, and modernization of the canal and sets the fees for passage. According to the treaty, those fees must be “just, reasonable, equitable, and consistent with international law.” In recent years, fees have increased, and while they are largely in line with the Suez Canal, auctions to enter the canal can significantly bump up the total transit fees. Trump’s concern…is about the extent of Chinese influence in the canal alongside the higher costs.
Back in 1997, a Hong Kong-based consortium won a bidding process to operate ports at each end of the canal. Since then, China’s growing interest in the canal, and in Panama overall, has generated concerns. Notably, in 2017, Panama cut ties with Taiwan, ushering in a new era of Chinese investment. …
One option is to ramp up US investment in the canal and in the many businesses that directly and indirectly support canal operations. The United States needs to really get in the game to win the game. And that US investment would be welcomed by the Panamanians.

Trump Promises Tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and Paves Way for Further Trade Action
(NYT) The president said he planned to put tariffs on America’s neighbors on Feb. 1, as he signed an executive order mandating a sweeping review of U.S. trade policy.