During a Politico event at the Munich Security Conference, Democratic Sen. Chris Coons expressed strong condemnation of the Trump administration's decision to freeze foreign aid, calling it 'immoral,' 'illegal,' and 'quite likely irreversible.'
Coons highlighted that the shuttering of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) without consulting Congress was deemed unlawful. He referenced a 2024 bill he co-authored that specifically prohibits restructuring, reorganizing, or defunding USAID without prior consultation with Congress.
The full dismantling of USAID is currently on hold due to an ongoing legal challenge, which is part of a series of court cases testing the extent of Trump's executive power to overhaul the federal government.
Despite the numerous lawsuits filed by Democrats to reverse the funding freeze, Coons expressed concerns about the difficulty of undoing the damage. Even if funding is eventually restored, it may not happen quickly enough to prevent the closure of organizations that relied on the aid.
Coons criticized the administration's replacements for the previous aid programs as inadequate. He pointed out that the humanitarian waivers signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio have not been effective in resuming the flow of money or restarting programs. As a result, tens of thousands of US and foreign national staff members are facing layoffs.
