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What’s Next for U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Assistance?
May 14 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
The State Department has released a reorganization plan that would usher in significant changes to the way the United States conducts its diplomacy and foreign assistance, at a time of considerable geopolitical change. Proposals by the Trump administration include eliminating or restructuring a number of the Department’s longstanding functions, dissolving and/or folding USAID into State, and imposing large budget and staffing cuts.
Debates over how to structure and optimize the State Department, and U.S. foreign assistance programs in particular, are nothing new. But important questions remain about these proposals—including how they may interact with Congressional prerogatives; their implications for the conduct of U.S. foreign policy amidst compounding global crises; and, ultimately, whether these changes may herald a more streamlined and effective bureaucracy or undermine U.S. diplomatic power.
On May 14, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and Just Security convened an expert panel to consider these vitally important developments and to unpack what’s happening, what’s at stake, and what lies ahead.
Event Details
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
12:00–1:00 p.m.
Virtual Event
Speakers
- Amb. Daniel Fried, Weiser Family Distinguished Fellow, Atlantic Council; Former Assistant Secretary of State for Europe; Former State Department Coordinator for Sanctions Policy
- Hon. Dafna H. Rand, Former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; Former Director, State Department Office of Foreign Assistance
- Michael Schiffer, Former Assistant Administrator, USAID Bureau for Asia; Former Senior Advisor and Counselor, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
- Michael Wahid Hanna (Moderator), U.S. Program Director, International Crisis Group; Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Reiss Center on Law and Security