The Art of Distraction
This was another week of Donald Trump flooding the zone. What began as a Friday night purge at the FBI evolved into Elon Musk “feeding USAID into the woodchipper” and taking control of the government checkbook. Simultaneously, Trump launched – and later rescinded – an unnecessary trade war with our closest trading partners. This all occurred before most of us were back at our desks on Monday.
The dizzying pace of events is Trump’s preferred tactic of political warfare. He aims to disorient and overwhelm. For Democrats to be successful in the Trump era, we have to remain focused and armed with a simple message that conveys the truth: Trump’s policies are hurting Americans, including those he promised to help. Republicans are complicit in enabling Trump’s agenda, while Democrats are attempting to expose and block it before he does more harm.
HURTING AMERICANS AND BENEFITING OUR ADVERSARIES
Trump’s reckless dismantling of USAID hurts Americans. American farmers who provide nearly half of USAID’s food aid – billions of dollars annually in agricultural sales – are currently in limbo. American businesses, researchers, and others will be negatively impacted as well. There is an outbreak of Ebola in Uganda that is no longer being contained with the help of USAID, which could now more easily make its way to our shores. The same can be said for Bird Flu, which USAID was tracking in nearly 50 countries before its work was brought to a screeching halt.
Trump’s closure of USAID has forced its nearly 14,000 employees out of work. And we cannot forget the tens of millions around the world who rely on USAID programs in more than 100 countries to fight disease, hunger, poverty, terrorism, and humanitarian crises for less than one percent of our federal budget a year.
The only real beneficiaries of USAID’s demise are America’s adversaries. Unsurprisingly, autocrats in Russia, Hungary, and El Salvador are cheering its downfall. China will directly benefit from our global withdrawal, becoming the partner of choice for many around the world. As the former USAID Administrator Samantha Power describes in the New York Times, “This is one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in U.S. history.”
PROJECT 2025 ON STEROIDS
While the velocity of Trump’s wrecking ball may feel surprising, his steps are clearly outlined in Project 2025, which Democrats warned about in the election to no avail. What may have seemed too abstract in November is now becoming a reality. The dismantling of key government agencies, including the Department of Education, massive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and gutting of social services and essential programs that Americans rely on – including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act – are all coming soon.
Project 2025 explicitly calls for using USAID “as a pilot test for a large-scale overhaul of the federal government…” If USAID was intended to be first on the chopping block, other federal agencies and spending cuts are clearly next, and it’s happening with more haste and recklessness than anyone envisioned. Elon Musk’s plans appear to be Project 2025 on steroids, and it’s not going to end well for the American people.
GAZA-A-LAGO
One policy nowhere to be found in Project 2025 is the United States assuming control of the Gaza Strip, displacing 2 million Palestinians, possibly with U.S. troops, and rebuilding it with an emphasis on beachfront property development. While Trump prefers to call his fantasy the “Riveria of the Middle East,” a more fitting term might be Gaza-a-Lago.
As I told the New York Times, “The notion that the United States is going to take over Gaza, including with the deployment of U.S. troops, isn’t just extreme, it’s completely detached from reality. In what world is this happening?” The forced resettlement of millions of people into Jordan and Egypt isn’t just inhumane; it’s been squarely rejected by those countries. So where will the millions of Palestinians in Gaza go?
A military occupation of one of the most densely populated strips of land on earth would be incredibly costly and would put American lives at risk. And Trump just cut nearly all foreign aid and eliminated the government agency that would be mostly responsible for such work. Trump’s aides are attempting to walk back some of what he said, tacitly revealing this may have been just another distraction – an unserious proposal aimed to divert our attention – and in that sense, it may have worked.
THEY FLOOD THE ZONE. WE FLOOD THE PHONES.
Amid this chaos, JDCA has focused on urging Congress to reassert its authority over the executive branch. The funds that are being cut were appropriated by Congress, and any change in how they’re spent violates the Constitution. Earlier today, JDCA heard from constitutional expert Rep. Jamie Raskin, who confirmed, “The entire thing is an inversion and distortion and obliteration of the Constitution.” We’ve had thousands of you take action with JDCA, contacting your members of Congress, and we encourage you to continue these efforts.
Earlier this week, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski confirmed that the Senate phones were being flooded with calls at a rate 40 times higher than the norm. Congress is hearing our calls for action, and Democrats are ratcheting up the pressure. Senate Democrats are increasingly using the tools they have – debating on the Senate floor for 30 hours protesting the nomination of Russell Vought, the architect of Project 2025, who was just confirmed as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Democrats also delayed the vote of FBI Director nominee Kash Patel by an additional week. In the House, Democrats introduced legislation to permanently protect taxpayer data. These efforts will continue.
Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy said on Fox News earlier this week: “To my friends who are upset…call somebody who cares. You better get used to this. It’s USAID today, it’s going to be the Department of Education tomorrow.” At least he’s being honest, though he doesn’t seem to care that his constituents will suffer.
Call your members of Congress and demand they stop Trump’s government takeover. Remember – they work for you.
Shabbat shalom,
Halie Soifer
CEO, Jewish Democratic Council of America