National security adviser Mike Waltz rejected claims over the weekend that the Trump administration gutting USAID would allow America’s adversaries around the world to advance their interests.
Waltz made the remarks during an interview with NBC News’ “Meet The Press” when asked about criticisms from a former government official who claimed: “This assistance is one of the most powerful tools Washington has to push back against Chinese and Russian influence and to prevent transnational threats such as disease and terrorism from reaching U.S. soil.”
When asked if the U.S. would be allowing Russia and China to expand their influence around the world by cutting back, Waltz said: “No, absolutely not.”
“And in fact, this is exactly what President Trump, Secretary of State Rubio, Elon Musk, myself and many others who have worked with USAID are talking about,” he said. “All too often these missions and these programs, number one, are not in line with strategic U.S. interests like pushing back on China. They’re doing all kinds of other things that, frankly, aren’t in line with strategic interests or the president’s vision, number one.”
“Number two, often, all too often, only cents on the dollar actually makes it to people in need,” he continued. “Between the big contractors, the subcontractors, the local contractors, the dollars aren’t being used wisely. We need to take a hard look at it. We need to move quickly. And that’s exactly what’s being done.” […]
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