In an interview, President Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, said that some of the proposed reductions in the Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could undermine “long-term American interests,” particularly in terms of foreign policy. He said there was.
“A well-run foreign aid program. I'm not saying that it exists now, but a well-run foreign aid program is trying to help friends and persuade others. How you use it in a country is open to debate. But no one speaks, are we spending enough in a country that is enough to advance American interests? Bolton said when he appeared on News Nation's show “Balance with Leland Vittert” on Friday.
Bolton said that “bureaucratic culture” would resist, and that, in his view, it is paramount to having an enforcer who can respond appropriately.
“The question is, are there people who can lead bureaucracy, can they kick ass bureaucracy when it is necessary, or a lot of people who take names from the building and put people on administrative leave I'm just there,” Bolton said. See Doge's focus on the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on Friday.
“You can do that, but you're damaging to have a proper understanding of America's long-term interests,” he added.
The Trump administration has criticised some of the programs run by USAID, claiming that the agency supports liberal causes around the world and folds it into the State Department. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has become representative director of the agency providing country development and humanitarian assistance. Tech elder Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump, has accused USAID of being a criminal organization.
The security details that Trump revoked last month said there are “many” cases that need to be reformed within USAID without the organization being covered.
He advised to go after his contributions to the US (UN), the World Bank and “the Multilateral Development Bank, the regional bank, the Regional Bank, and the Regional Bank that doesn't trust the money the US puts there.”
“A carefully dictated foreign aid program is national security aid. It's not something we have now, but destroying it completely is the international field that we need. I'm removing my weapons at this,” he said Friday.
Bolton suggested that Trump's UN ambassador candidate Elise Stefani would consider reducing US contributions to the UN and reassessing contributions to other programs within the body.
“The council and its permanent seats in the vote are listed in the UN Charter and can be denied changes to the charter,” Bolton wrote in the Wall Street Journal's OP-ED in late December. “The potential negative outcome of ending a recognized contribution is essentially zero.”
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