Devex: How Donald Trump changed U.S. development policy in 2017
“For the U.S. development community, 2017 was different. Drastic budget proposals, hiring freezes, and murky reorganization plans sent development advocates scrambling. They watched a skeptical White House call for deep cuts — and the U.S. Congress emerge as foreign aid’s new center of gravity. … While some of the most dramatic proposed changes to U.S. development efforts have not — yet — come to pass, development leaders caution that does not mean the political battles are over. The political landscape for U.S. foreign aid shifted [last] year, and significant tensions between budget, policy, and personnel have yet to be resolved…” (Igoe, 12/21).

Devex: How Trump’s first year impacted developing countries
“…As the U.S. government continues to operate under temporary funding bills, some organizations are feeling cuts already, or seeing the impact of a system moving slowly amid great uncertainty. From mothers in Kenya, to farmers in Malawi and Tajikistan, it seems that the most immediate impacts are being felt in health and in agriculture, where policy shifts have accompanied the budget uncertainty. … Devex spoke with a number of government officials, leaders of nongovernmental organizations, and U.S. Agency for International Development contractors about how the budget recommendations and policies coming through Washington are impacting people in developing countries…” (Saldinger, 12/21).