Rescissions and decisions: what’s the plan?
I write as an ambassador of The Borgen Project, a nonprofit and global campaign that calls on influential leaders to fight global poverty and hunger. Subsequently, I commend Senator Jeanne Shaheen as she strives to defend the world’s most vulnerable.
In June, Trump requested Congress rescind budget authority from a slew of foreign aid programs. The Rescissions Act of 2025 passed into law on July 24, unprecedentedly slashing (among other vital initiatives) more than half of the 2025 proposal for global economic assistance.
In a time when global instability and the malignant growth of regimes is particularly troubling to us at home, such aid must dominate foreign policy. As Senator Shaheen stated, anything else is “a gift to our adversaries.”
The Borgen Project praises Senator Shaheen’s condemnation of the worsening crisis in Gaza. Speaking on Face the Nation while visiting the Jordan humanitarian assistance program, Senator Shaheen aptly labeled Israel’s blockade a “shameful black mark on humanity.” If Netanyahu relinquishes this hold, Jordan is prepared to send 150 trucks per day laden with relief.
Senator Shaheen’s leadership shines as a beacon of hope and example for us all. The Borgen Project asks not that we shrink into hopelessness or sorrow, but that we wield our collective power to influence our leaders on behalf of those unable to do so. Will we, the people of a nation predicated on the liberty to breathe, make our voices heard? It’s time for us all to answer that call.