Diplomats Decry USAID’s Dismantling in Dissent Cable to Rubio
Demonstrators display a sign and offer supplies during a “clap out” in support of USAID workers on Feb. 27.
Photographer: Kent Nishimura/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Hundreds of US diplomats wrote a formal letter of protest to decry the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development, saying the move threatens US national security and caused “irreparable harm” to millions of people.
The so-called dissent cable, addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said the Trump administration’s attacks on the aid agency endangered US personnel and eroded trust in the US. The signers said USAID staff had also been subjected to a smear campaign based on claims that “fail even the simplest scrutiny and fact-check as false.”