Letter rip Democrats are in the minority in both chambers of the U.S. Congress, but they’re still trying to make their voices heard as *they oppose the Trump administration’s deep cuts to foreign aid* — even insisting the merger of USAID into the State Department could be unlawful <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POrHUo-5KRfbBK_1WFNkKZUKjKGNr42kuagI_fM7Xc3Xdiuw5TPMgd2YHqIqGoT7oLbIAzJkmpSkvM4C_0QRhu7Ggnstb3r5CDrx7jxilvNUFygZ8VN8EdS6vECxL6zHp61Jo8ECb46feMPVDgDwBkFMGDvD2h3Cz1M1VyReGjase47eGLfl2XJB1T_4n0X35LK5uDl03yAgqPbUEEUn1lYTcsTMcxgaW5UNn4BtrG-POfKN1D_dc2fHkiOHOWbMFYQ==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIecraO3zNcB_BwHAZ7M4cE30TifoRRnd_JWtVD-JTxVBuxaih9Sv6i5bP2s9Ih_L-2Vt8=> .
“As proposed, this plan will overburden the State Department, jeopardize the continuity of programs that save lives and keep Americans safe at home and *further undermine U.S. credibility and reliability*,” four top-ranking Democratic lawmakers write in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The letter, Elissa reports, came two weeks after the Trump administration delivered a congressional notification <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POjbW6rOsZ37Uc-AtgCDeIvf-tQPk7a-wKqtdlQNd9Bin0p0asLeKcYa1Ku2KZ-obWes9WP-mmvJ70f8Mhab83z3eMixFgX_X-eZw-52dZUDq9rhh97NkG4Xgor54u9eObLadwzf3_QxN8TAgVWpy622piMhuRubdhWCeo0-JaPZD1lzflqAq0OvPHUCOmXA73ZRTMUMeZEqVWwV83FumYY9XwT4b_EjexonhC57dnPP-f3Qv2EFhUmRJUTAXfM7vIw==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIecraO3zNcB_BwHAZ7M4cE30TifoRRnd_JWtVD-JTxVBuxaih9Sv6i5bP2s9Ih_L-2Vt8=> to Capitol Hill that laid out a plan to “abolish” USAID as an independent entity, and to subsume select programs into the Department of State. <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POrHUo-5KRfbBK_1WFNkKZUKjKGNr42kuagI_fM7Xc3Xdiuw5TPMgd2YHqIqGoT7oLbIAzJkmpSkvM4C_0QRhu7Ggnstb3r5CDrx7jxilvNUFygZ8VN8EdS6vECxL6zHp61Jo8ECb46feMPVDgDwBkFMGDvD2h3Cz1M1VyReGjase47eGLfl2XJB1T_4n0X35LK5uDl03yAgqPbUEEUn1lYTcsTMcxgaW5UNn4BtrG-POFrOY6x6fouIM28DTf9V1Kg==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIecraO3zNcB_BwHAZ7M4cE30TifoRRnd_JWtVD-JTxVBuxaih9Sv6i5bP2s9Ih_L-2Vt8=> Last week, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Sen. Brian Schatz, Rep. Gregory Meeks, and Rep. Lois Frankel formally objected to the State Department’s plan, stating *the process Rubio had undertaken to reform USAID was unlawful*. But an objection only has legal power if it results in an actual act of Congress, and with Republicans in charge, such an outcome is unlikely. *Exclusive: *Lawmakers oppose USAID merger, citing ‘unlawful’ process <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POrHUo-5KRfbBK_1WFNkKZUKjKGNr42kuagI_fM7Xc3Xdiuw5TPMgd2YHqIqGoT7oLbIAzJkmpSkvM4C_0QRhu7Ggnstb3r5CDrx7jxilvNUFygZ8VN8EdS6vECxL6zHp61Jo8ECb46feMPVDgDwBkFMGDvD2h3Cz1M1VyReGjase47eGLfl2XJB1T_4n0X35LK5uDl03yAgqPbUEEUn1lYTcsTMcxgaW5UNn4BtrG-POtBMjNob21ISqO3Q-XYoBMA==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZ0vIecraO3zNcB_BwHAZ7M4cE30TifoRRnd_JWtVD-JTxVBuxaih9Sv6i5bP2s9Ih_L-2Vt8=>
