Angola-Rwanda-DRC, USAID

Department Press Briefing – March 6, 2025

Department Press Briefing
Tammy Bruce, Department Spokesperson

March 6, 2025:

[Excerpted …]

QUESTION: My name is Hariana Veras and I’m with TPA. Recently, I asked President Trump about his interest in join the effort of the president of Angola, President João Lourenço, who is mediating the conflict between DRC and Rwanda, if he would be interested to join the efforts of Angola to bring peace to DRC. He said that the situation in the DRC is a very serious situation, but we also see that in this first 100 days of President Trump, he’s making some movement. He imposed sanctions on the people that are directly involved on the conflict in DRC, and also Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he spoke with the foreign minister of Angola and also President Tshisekedi of Congo.

MS BRUCE: Correct. Correct.

QUESTION: Is there any plan or can we expect something more in terms of action from the United States to join Angolans’ effort to bring peace to DRC? Because every day, people are dying, and we have seen how eager President Trump wants to bring peace in many region —

MS BRUCE: That is correct.

QUESTION: — not only – not only in – between Russia and Ukraine, but also he – he’s showing interest in to bring peace in other region. Is the Democratic Republic of the Congo one of the country that this administration will do something to bring peace? Because —

MS BRUCE: Well, let me – I can – I can tell you, and this is I think a good way to end the briefing today, just as a reminder, yes, of the global commitment that this administration has, but that senator – I keep doing that; he’s the Secretary. (Laughter.) He’s the Secretary of State – that the Secretary of State Marco Rubio has in the world. I can tell you that we stand in firm support of the Congolese people and of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC. I can say that in his calls with the two presidents, the Secretary urged an immediate ceasefire in the region, accountability for human rights abuses and violations, and for all parties to respect sovereignty and territorial integrity. We expect to see leaders return to the Angolan-led Luanda Process and the Nairobi Process and take action to resolve the conflict.

We are aware of this. He has communicated this. He’s engaged with leaders in the region on this as well. And we remain diplomatically engaged; that is going to continue. It will not soften or end. And I appreciate you being here because this is very important and it’s a big story. Might not get as much coverage on – in the media, but there’s a lot of – a lot of problems here in the world, and the Secretary is committed to solving them, as is the President. So it is a team and a whole-of-government understanding that our world here at home needs to change and reform, and the way that the world is unfolding now with its conflicts, that needs to reform as well. So the DRC – thank you.

…..

QUESTION: USAID. So on January 20th, the entire Function 150 account of the federal budget – which is all of the State Department and USAID, including operations, salaries – was roughly about 1 percent of the budget. What’s your understanding of where that number, that percentage, is today?

MS BRUCE: Well, what I can tell you is President Trump was elected to change the status quo. Part of what has initiated this dynamic that we’ve all watched play out is – what’s this been? I think it’s been six weeks – is an effort to deal with waste, fraud, and abuse. This began with the simple inquiry of USAID to look at their books, to look and inquire. And they refused. They said we’re an autonomous organization; you have no right to come in.

The intention was not to do it in a manner that you’ve been watching unfold. It began because there was no cooperation at the beginning. And the inquiry, of course, was because of the debt, the nature being – $2 trillion – that it was an unsustainable and remains an unsustainable way of running anything, a household or a government. There’s a point where you have to look up and say we need to see at least what’s happening.

So this has been a pause, a 90-day pause – you shouldn’t forget that – to look at the nature of how the taxpayer money has been spent and if it was being used in the proper way for the things that we’ve allotted it for. And that began. It began – it was certainly in a manner that was not planned on. But it – we were – we needed to do it. It was something that was, of course, important to accomplish the nature of dealing with: Is there fraud? Is there abuse? Is there waste? How can we fix the system so that taxpayer dollars are being used properly?

And in the process, of course, we’ve looked through some of these issues. You heard, at the joint session of Congress addressed by the President, some of the remarkable programs that were – that we were paying for around the world, millions of dollars. And clearly, change has had to be made. And that’s what’s – that’s what we’re doing right now. There is change not only when it comes to what’s being funded but also how the bureaucracy works and if a bureaucracy, the size that it was, needed to exist in the way that it exists. All of this review is important.

At the same time, within a review like this because you’re looking at whether or not there’s an efficiency in the way money is spent, it doesn’t mean that we are not going to be doing foreign aid. It’s a matter of how are we going to be doing the aid and if it is effective, and if it is efficient, and if it achieves the goals that we want that make America safe, more prosperous, more secure. And there’s nothing that’s deviated from that.

Source: MyPR International