“The American people deserve to hear from the administration why it has made changes to long-standing U.S. foreign policy, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has the power to insist on answers for us.” /end

“From the establishment of the Marshall Plan to the recent present, Congressional authorizations and appropriations have confirmed bipartisan support for using foreign aid to advance our interests. /6

“These actions represent a reversal of our approach to foreign policy since World War II. They have been carried out without any input from stakeholders, public or private, and certainly without the considered input of you and other elected representatives. /5

“Regarding foreign aid, while the Administration did announce it intended to conduct a review “with an eye toward reorganization” of USAID, it has already effectively dismantled the agency. It has also said it was eliminating more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts. /4

“In my long experience as a Foreign Service Officer, I have never known the U.S. to reward an aggressor for illegal gains and force the victim to surrender to him. /3

“On Ukraine, today’s shameful treatment of the Ukrainian president in the Oval Office suggests that the administration intends to force Ukraine to capitulate to the Kremlin and freeze in place Russia’s illegal seizure and occupation of 20% of Ukraine’s territory. /2

and two, whether the administration intends to continue to use foreign aid as an instrument of foreign policy. /1