Memo Random
“President Donald Trump intended his flood of executive orders to shock and awe his opponents. But on Monday night, a memo from the Office of Management and Budget instead shocked the Trump White House.” Ashley Parker in The Atlantic (Gift Article): The Memo That Shocked the White House. “The directive from the Office of Management and Budget that froze most federal funds on Monday had not gone through the usual approval process.” (Sounds like someone didn’t get the memo…)
+ While the order to freeze domestic funds was quickly blocked by a judge and later rescinded by the administration, the freeze on international aid is already doing damage. Atul Gawande in The New Yorker: Behind the Chaotic Attempt to Freeze Federal Assistance. “Foreign aid has long been funded by bipartisan majorities in Congress as a cornerstone of national security, along with diplomacy and defense. This supports work, much of it through contractors and nongovernmental organizations, with countries worldwide in areas of mutual interest. Examples include combatting global disease threats and malnutrition; stopping human trafficking and drug trafficking; advancing access to education for girls; and demining postwar countries like Vietnam and Cambodia. In the days that followed, nonetheless, organizations across the U.S. and the world received letters stating that they must stop all work and use of existing funds immediately. No staff can be paid. No services can be provided. No medicines or supplies sitting on shelves can be used.”
+ “‘Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions,’ Mr Rubio has said. ‘Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?'” (Around the world, the question is, Does America know what the hell it’s doing?) BBC: How a US freeze upended global aid in a matter of days.