Posted on 02/03/2025 5:05:32 PM PST by Red Badger
Democratic Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz on Monday announced that he was placing a "blanket hold" on all of President Donald Trump's nominees for the State Department, over reports that the president is planning to close the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who leads the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, said earlier Monday that he and Trump are going to shut down the agency, as part of the department's efforts to end wasteful spending.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also announced Monday that he was the acting director of USAID, an independent federal agency that delivers billions of dollars in humanitarian aid overseas.
“Dismantling USAID is illegal and makes us less safe. USAID was created by federal law and is funded by Congress. Donald Trump and Elon Musk can’t just wish it away with a stroke of a pen — they need to pass a law,” Schatz, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, said in a statement.
“Until and unless this brazenly authoritarian action is reversed and USAID is functional again, I will be placing a blanket hold on all of the Trump administration’s State Department nominees,” he continued. “This is self-inflicted chaos of epic proportions that will have dangerous consequences all around the world.”
Although Rubio has been confirmed as secretary of State, there are still many high ranking officials in the department that require Senate confirmation. Those include Christopher Landau as deputy secretary of State, and Adam Boehler for special envoy for hostage affairs.
Others still awaiting confirmation include the ambassadorships, such Elise Stefanik as Ambassador to the United Nations.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.
🐂💩
I hate Hawaiian politicians.
Yeah, I don’t feel safe unless we’re giving Nepal money to expand atheism, and giving Colombia money for trans theater.
How can this PSTUPID HAWAIIAN DO THIS????
They seem to suck. Yup.
Given the details beginning to emerge about the corruption and waste at USAID, the senator is starting a war that will cost him everything. The public is awake now.
In 1961, President Kennedy signed the Foreign Assistance Act into law and created USAID by executive order.
Musk is shutting down the clown show. There are no nomanies. What a joke!
I thought John Thune was the Republican Majority Leader in the Senate, not this passant Schatz.
Two words: recess appointments
“USAID was created by federal law”
A lie, USAID was created by an Executive order submitted by JFK.
Let’s check Brian’s bank account.
Was this guy going to vote for any Trump appointments, anyway?
Petulant child needs to be told that he will receive no legislative action on any projected funding for anything in his state
All a blanket hold means is they have to vote on each nomination. It slows things down it does not stop them
It a BS proapganda move that is basically a childish tempertantrum
Trump has Rubio in place to sign off on anything and everything. Make the underlying officials in the State Dept. “acting head of this” and “acting superintendent” of that until Thune can find a way to break this logjam.
Brian Schatz is as contemptible as Mazie Hirono.
Never should have been a state.
What a pile of dog schatz.
It’s time for a blanket hold on feral government money going to Hawaii. And it’s high time to consider giving that rotten state back to the natives.
Right from the Thieves’ former website: In 1961, President Kennedy signed the Foreign Assistance Act into law and created USAID by executive order.
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