On "Government Efficiency" & The Least of These

Art by Haleigh DeRocher, available here.

“This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.”

-Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass  

Dear friend,

For nearly three years, you have kindly indulged me in reading monthly notions and contemplations exploring themes of being human in the workplace and the world. This month, I feel compelled to share my thoughts on the disturbing events in Washington, DC, particularly related to the United States’ foreign assistance program, a pillar of American leadership under every U.S. president since John F. Kennedy.

I believe that each of us will look back on this chapter in American history and ask ourselves if we did enough to fight for our Constitution and our values. I have just one voice, but I am comforted in knowing that it joins a chorus of other concerned Americans who will not stand by as the pillars of our democracy are actively dismissed and degraded. We will speak up and show up to remind our elected representatives that they work for us, not the other way around.

As one mentor recently reminded me, “America has always been about progress and regress.” In time, the pendulum will swing again towards compassion and common sense. No matter your politics, I hope these reflections resonate with some part of you; and either way, I look forward to engaging with you on our collective way forward.

Onward,

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Notions & Contemplations

US Foreign Aid & Matthew 25

Though a “political appointee” in the Obama Administration, I did not come up through politics. I am the child of entrepreneurs and lifelong Episcopalians, so most of my formative lessons came either through dinner table conversations about stretching the dollar to “stay in the black” or Sunday morning sermons about God’s Love made manifest through service to others. For example, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,”  became an ever-present guidepost in my life (Matthew 25:40).

While working with State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) colleagues around the world, it became clear to me that Matthew 25 wasn’t just about our moral obligation but also our national security. Our world is more connected than ever: Americans of all political and economic stripes are increasingly tied to “the least of these” on the other side of the planet. With that interconnection comes responsibility. We cannot reasonably expect to enjoy global stability and economic growth when hunger and poverty abroad fuels desperation, extremism, and at its worst, terrorism that can arrive at our doorstep.

A Noble Not New Goal

Earlier this month, the Trump Administration brought United States foreign aid to a stunning halt, citing the need for more transparency and accountability in how we spend taxpayer dollars on things like fighting hunger, preventing the spread of disease, and combatting terrorism. While their goal of advancing efficacy and efficiency in government programs is a worthy one, it is not new. Previous Republican and Democratic administrations have had similar aspirations, though their approaches were notably less chaotic.

For example, fifteen years ago, the State Department and USAID undertook the first ever Quadrennial Development and Diplomacy Review, or QDDR. Adapted from the congressionally mandated Quadrennial Defense Review, the QDDR was a systematic assessment of State and USAID capabilities that  resulted in more streamlined structures and operations. This allowed the “soft power” of diplomacy and development to be effectively deployed alongside the “hard power” of our military. While the QDDR was underway, the United States continued to honor our commitments to partners abroad, public servants continued their daily work implementing Congressionally-approved programs, and we ultimately integrated the report’s recommendations in an orderly manner. Change did not require chaos.

Secretary Rubio says that USAID spending needs more transparency, a goal that previous administrations from both parties have also prioritized. In 2011, I helped launch the Open Government Partnership, an international initiative in which nations, including the United States, committed to working with civil society organizations and private sector partners to “open up” government. After all, a functioning democracy relies on the accountability of an informed populace; and in this modern era, we have the tools to keep track and keep the score.

To date, OGP has helped pass over 4,500 concrete reforms to improve transparency, fight corruption, and strengthen democracy in more than 78 countries. Thanks in part to OGP, USAID and other federal agencies began reporting data on foreign aid funding in 2015, including program recipients and dollar amounts, via www.foreignassistance.gov. This effort was codified–henceforth required by law–when Congress passed the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act in 2016. Once again, change did not require chaos.

But here we are in 2025: under the auspices of cleaning up government spending, President Trump and Elon Musk—an unelected private citizen who has not been vetted by Congress like other senior officials—are intentionally sowing chaos, illegally dismantling USAID, an agency whose first and last order of business was to advance American security and whose budget is less than 1% of the federal budget.

Speaking of budget, not all USAID funding flows to other countries: over $2 billion goes to U.S. farmers and universities that provide life-saving agricultural assistance around the world. As of this month, those programs are no longer.

Efficiency in government is indeed a noble goal—one that every Presidential administration has and should aspire to. But change in the name of better governance does not require chaos. Not only is the Trump administration’s current approach constitutionally illegal and a threat to our national security, it is also counterproductive to improving the efficiency of government and will undoubtedly increase our costs in the long run.

Diseases go unchecked in chaos. Innocent children and families go hungry in chaos. Terrorists thrive in chaos. Effective governance does not.

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On My Kindle + Feed + Calendar

Shout out to the US Army Chorus for performing “Do You Hear the People Sing,” a powerful ballad of resistance from Les Miserables, at the 2025 White House Governors Ball.

Their performance led me down a goosebumpy journey of beautiful reprisals from Les Mis, including this one featuring Jean Valjeans from 17 different countries, many of which have struggled with (and persisted beyond) authoritarianism.

We all need more tiny hits of delight!

I love this post with examples of how random people integrate whimsy into their everyday lives. From here on out, I will be teaching my dog, Beignet, how to make a delicious cappuccino and enthusiastically informing the dishes that “it’s bath time!” when I load them into the dishwasher.

I am returning to Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ timeless “Letter to a Young Activist During Troubled Times” on a weekly basis.

Though the entire letter is worthy of quoting here, I am particularly drawn to this passage right now: “Regarding awakened souls, there have never been more able crafts in the waters than there are right now across the world. And they are fully provisioned and able to signal one another as never before in the history of humankind. I would like to take your hands for a moment and assure you that you are built well for these times. Despite your stints of doubt, your frustrations in arighting all that needs change right now, or even feeling you have lost the map entirely, you are not without resource, you are not alone. Look out over the prow; there are millions of boats of righteous souls on the waters with you. In your deepest bones, you have always known this is so. Even though your veneers may shiver from every wave in this stormy roil, I assure you that the long timbers composing your prow and rudder come from a greater forest. That long-grained lumber is known to withstand storms, to hold together, to hold its own, and to advance, regardless.”