The Hill: USAID’s mission is too important to politicize and obstruct
Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

“…Dysfunction and obstruction at USAID could not happen at a worse time. The agency operates at the intersection of our four most pressing national and global crises — the coronavirus pandemic, global economic recession, climate change, and structural racism — and could play a pivotal role in addressing each. … Even during a two-month transition — indeed especially then — we need USAID to do its job. When the Trump administration mulled a plan in 2019 to cut billions in foreign aid, which would have gutted USAID, Republican leaders joined their Democratic counterparts to appreciate that decimating this institution was ‘short-sighted’ and a threat to national security. President-elect Biden manifestly gets this. It would be a bipartisan shame if the agency were left in political tatters before it has a chance to lead again” (11/15).