The Hill: 5 things the Trump team needs to know about foreign aid
Diana Ohlbaum, member of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network Executive Committee and senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Project on Prosperity and Development

“As President-elect Donald Trump’s transition teams arrive at the Department of State and other foreign policy agencies, they are no doubt being inundated with briefing papers and policy recommendations. Here’s a quick list of what they need to know about foreign aid. 1. If you don’t want to send in the troops, you need development. … 2. The private sector is a partner, not a substitute. … 3. Transactional aid doesn’t work. … 4. This is not your father’s USAID. … 5. Congress is constructively engaged. … Ultimately, yes, there is still unfinished business on foreign aid reform generally, and USAID reform specifically. But instead of swinging a wrecking ball, President-elect Trump’s foreign policy team ought to build on the structures that are solidly serving U.S. national interests” (12/6).