WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, published an op-ed in the Washington Post discussing the national security consequences of President Donald Trump’s efforts to freeze U.S. foreign assistance funding and halt operations at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). 

This weekend, reports broke that President Trump plans to sign an executive order drastically reducing USAID’s budget and operations and folding it into the State Department. It’s one of many steps to decapitate our foreign aid apparatus, including freezing nearly all U.S. foreign aid for 90 days on his first day back in office.

In his op-ed, Senator Coons pointed out that for less than one percent of the federal budget, USAID and foreign aid spending keep Americans abroad and within the 50 states safe. Whether containing dangerous diseases before they can reach this country or preventing security vacuums in which terrorist groups thrive, USAID funds keep Americans safe and our nation secure. Additionally, cutting our foreign aid budget will create a vacuum that will allow China and our adversaries to expand their influence.

The Washington Post: Trump’s attack on USAID is an assault on Americans’ safety

Donald Trump ran for president on a promise that he would keep Americans safe. His effort to defund and destroy the U.S. Agency for International Development shows he has a misguided idea of how to do that.

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U.S. foreign assistance makes up 1 percent of our federal budget, and this money isn’t charity. It bolsters our security and advances our values. The reckless steps the Trump administration is taking as part of its isolationist “America First” agenda are, simply put, dangerous for Americans. Our foreign assistance and engagement wins us friends around the world, establishes our leadership and, more important, neutralizes distant threats to the United States well before they put our country at risk.

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U.S. foreign and development assistance carried out by USAID might occur out of the public eye and far from our borders, but it addresses instability and keeps Americans safe. It keeps Americans living overseas safe. It keeps our service members stationed around the world safe. It keeps my constituents in Wilmington safe. As Gen. Jim Mattis, Trump’s first defense secretary, said, if we don’t fund foreign aid, “then I need to buy more bullets.”