The Trump administration official overseeing the dismantling of the main U.S. foreign aid agency proposed phasing out help for crisis-torn Lebanon and the Rohingya, the world's largest stateless population, according to an email reviewed by Reuters.
Written on February 16 by Peter Marocco, the acting USAID deputy administrator, the email provides a window into some of the thinking behind the administration's drive to terminate aid programs that it does not believe benefit the U.S.
In it, Marocco appeared to want the Rohingya and Lebanon to express their gratitude for U.S. support, saying the U.S. "should procure some type of consideration or good faith from the recipient populations to the American people."
The email directed Tim Meisburger, the head of USAID's humanitarian affairs bureau, to draft an “Action memo” drawing U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's attention to “the odd dependency” of Lebanon and the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar on U.S. aid.
It should outline options for “how we recommend, immediately, sending the signal, that though we have compassion, people had the warning on November 5, and things will have to change," Marocco wrote, referring to Trump's 2024 re-election.
"Please propose the best method and timeline of weening this dependency and what we might seek, from them – or partners. Nothing is owed,” he wrote, apparently meaning an absence of any U.S. obligation to provide further support.
A source with knowledge of the issue confirmed the authenticity of the email and that Marocco sought to phase out aid to the Rohingya and Lebanon.
Marocco "is not convinced these people need more aid," the source said.
The State Department declined to comment. Marocco and Meisburger did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reuters could not determine whether Meisburger sent the requested memo to Rubio or how much U.S. aid continues to flow to Lebanon or the more than 1 million Rohingyas who have fled violent persecution in Myanmar that the U.S. in 2022 declared a genocide.
The United States provides military, humanitarian and other assistance to Lebanon.
Marocco sent the email as he and billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency were launching a drive to shrink USAID and merge its remnants into the State Department.
They have fired hundreds of staff and contractors and terminated billions of dollars in services on which tens of millions of people around the world depend. Rubio on Monday said more than 80% of all USAID programs have been canceled. --- Reuters
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