*On the chopping block* U.S. President Donald Trump has signed yet another executive order <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POjbW6rOsZ37Uc-AtgCDeIveAuZUFDsa4-VJDKDzryM1S3B4Btme8I45jZazaPrg_ypR_wnfvjd04jNpvHsM_NN5HuoO1XPRmjfdYGlozdZcwzUqsXZLjwNSFwqLc5y2UDfOnaJzg7DQlr0Tk-0kKgHwqxeGr92V9WEmoF4UwdTlNj_Wpa5_f9CevbYE5udexSVJHZaVRhqPkS8kgjoMPk5tYo3aevR_-3tbIN9PbHEWlFceo9YMmsGoYaFy-6Smscg==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYx15_q8rmEppOfm-4enZ-07ZU0SrFywJBdDr5Na0c-niDgUmW0TITioKeX7vCzPgnJbdB3fM=>, this time dismantling the Inter-American Foundation <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYx15_qw6kBjTpzJ2zOBD-X1F8RMva1iXxaSDcREhbL9hD7KeGBHr20mwcYylNbB0ZnDlNPxw=>, the U.S. African Development Foundation, and the U.S. Institute of Peace <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYx15_qyMT8ur6XnGlKXKj2mHhq1V5HMtUUWq_L3qXDNLSxIILbZQi08NLG888wJl61nkutgw=> , *calling them “unnecessary.”*
Created by the U.S. Congress around 50 years ago, these agencies operate on modest budgets of $40million to $55 million annually, funding development projects in Latin America and Africa, as well as global conflict resolution. *Despite their small size, they've faced scrutiny* — critics accuse the U.S. Institute of Peace of having an overwhelmingly Democratic-leaning staff, while the African Development Foundation was flagged for financial mismanagement, though audits later found no violations. Trump’s order gives agency heads *14 days to comply with the directive and to justify their existence* or begin scaling down to the bare legal minimum. It also takes aim at various advisory groups, including USAID’s long-standing committee on voluntary foreign aid, established after World War II. Even San Francisco’s Presidio Trust, which manages a historic park, is in the crosshairs, writes my colleague Elissa Miolene. *Read:* Trump to scrap US African Development Foundation, US Institute of Peace <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POjbW6rOsZ37Uc-AtgCDeIveAuZUFDsa4-VJDKDzryM1S3B4Btme8I45jZazaPrg_ypR_wnfvjd04jNpvHsM_NN5HuoO1XPRmjfdYGlozdZcwzUqsXZLjwNSFwqLc5y2UDfOnaJzg7DQlr0Tk-0kKgHwqxeGr92V9WEmoF4UwdTlNj_Wpa5_f9CevbYE5udexSVJHZaVRhqPkS8kgjoMPk5tYo3aevR_-3tbIN9PbHEWlnNbQ27PF5eqBIqwOmAIrNw==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGYx15_q8rmEppOfm-4enZ-07ZU0SrFywJBdDr5Na0c-niDgUmW0TITioKeX7vCzPgnJbdB3fM=>
