Credit Where Credit Is Due

After all my ranting and raving about no one doing anything , Sister's Senator, Andy Kim, proved me wrong.

Sen. Kim was Representative Kim when, in his blue suit, he cleaned up the poop left in the Rotunda by the January 6th Insurrectionists.  That suit is now in the Smithsonian.

nbc news

Yesterday, he was, once again, where he needed to be.  His first government job was with USAID.  His reaction to the illegal shut down and reorganization under the State Department was obvious - he walked over to talk to someone, to see what was happening.  

He was denied access.

So he went outside and started talking to reporters.

Hours later, other Senators joined in the hue and cry, but it all started with the junior Senator from New Jersey.

I said it before and I'll say it again - we need to make lots of loud noise.  Let's hope this is the beginning.

*****

This is the Facebook post Sen. Kim wrote on Monday morning, as the lock out began.

Andy Kim for New Jersey 

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 As Trump and Musk gut USAID today, I think back to my first day ever working for the US gov, showing up at the Reagan Building to start at USAID. Shame on them for demonizing Americans who are serving our nation, often in difficult and dangerous places.

We can have a policy debate about how much to spend internationally or what programs to fund, but their hate and paranoia towards other Americans go much deeper. I’m proud I worked at USAID.

I worked in USAID/Africa bureau where we helped rehabilitate former child soldiers in Uganda, helped with an emerging famine in Malawi. Trump admin complains about China’s growing influence in Africa but then shuts down one of our best tools to fight this.

USAID helps strengthen our nation’s reputation, showcasing our power and our values. Trump admin is now doing extraordinary damage to our reputation not just in trying to stop USAID’s work but by denigrating the mission of humanitarian and development assistance as a whole.

Their vindictive way of trying to shut down USAID sends signals all over the world that we are a nation at war with itself. It tells authoritarian adversaries that America is distracted and divided. It tells other nations we don’t care about them as China and others try to woo them to their side.

To the workers at USAID, I’m sorry you have been treated the way you have, disrespected in your work, maliciously had your patriotism questioned. You serve your nation and should never be attacked, especially by our own. As someone who once worked at USAID, I stand with you.

These actions by Trump/Musk show America as a nation trampling the rule of law. Trump/Musk cannot unilaterally close USAID or transfer under State. USAID is codified by the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, 22 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.

Any action to shut USAID down would need to go through Congress, and we will fight this. This is all self-inflicted damage. We face real national security threats, and right now our adversaries/competitors are loving what they see — America at war with itself.