In another in a long list of bombastic executive orders, President Donald Trump cut off all U.S. aid to South Africa due to what he claimed was “unjust racial discrimination” against white Afrikaners in the country’s land reform law. Trump also cited South Africa’s International Court of Justice genocide case against Israel. Trump’s aid cutoff will eliminate $400 million in U.S. assistance, which mostly pays for medical treatment to HIV and AIDS patients.
(“Why No One Wins Trump’s War with South Africa,” Foreign Policy, Feb. 12, 2025; “Some Afrikaners Cheer as Trump Amplify Claims of Persecution,” New York Times, Feb. 8, 2025)
When President Donald Trump threatened to impose tough sanctions on Colombia for refusing to accept shackled Colombian migrants deported from the U.S. on military cargo planes, China’s ambassador to Bogota declared on social media, that relations between Beijing and Colombia had reached their “best moment.”
(“Trump’s Disdain for South America Allies is China’s Gain,” Guardian, Feb. 12, 2025)
As Elon Musk and Donald Trump illegally collude to eliminate entire federal agencies and fire hundreds of thousands of government workers, red states are looking to set up similar Department of Government Efficiency bodies. Republican governors and GOP-controlled state legislators are now forming their own government efficiency panels that will likely lead to calls for dramatic cuts in state spending. The Texas House of Representatives, for example, set up 13-member panel they call the Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee. According to Stateline News, Republicans in states including Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Wisconsin have created similar bodies.
(“Red States Create Own DOGE Efforts to Cut State Government,” Stateline, Feb. 4, 2025)
