Donald Trump’s freeze on humanitarian aid, mass staff layoffs and deep budget cuts at the US Agency for International Development (or USAID) have led to the deaths of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border, home to 90,000 people displaced by years of repression, war and Myanmar’s 2021 military coup. As aid groups, including the International Rescue Committee were forced to shut down their health clinics, Thai hospitals have tried to fill gap.
(“Along the Thai Myanmar Border, Trump’s Decision to Suspend Foreign Aid to Suspend Foreign Aid is Deadly,” Guardian, Feb. 25, 2025; “Along the Thai Myanmar Border, Trump’s Decision to Suspend Foreign Aid to Suspend Foreign Aid is Deadly,” Guardian, Feb. 26, 2025)
Over the past month, the Trump administration’s contentious reset of U.S. foreign policy on the Ukraine war, and the imposition of new US tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China have been the focus of extensive media coverage. But far below the radar is a possible change in U.S. policy toward the Western Balkans where Serb nationalism erupted into devastating wars in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Kosovo in the 1990s.
(“What does Trump’s Return Mean for the Balkans,” Foreign Policy, Feb. 20, 2025)
Following the right-wing Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 blueprint, the Trump administration is dismantling key election security programs which have helped state and municipal governments combat foreign interference in U.S. elections. Over the last seven years, the FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency assisted election officials to better protect election facilities and prevent cyber-attacks by foreign interests.
(“Election Officials Blast Trump’s Retreat From Protecting Voting Against Foreign Threats,” Guardian, Feb. 17, 2025; “A Presidential Misadventure,” Stateline, Feb. 24, 2025)
