The Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and aid budget cuts in the U.K., France, and other Western countries present a stark turning point for the international humanitarian aid system.

Sonali Korde, the Baker Institute’s MD Anderson Visiting Fellow and the former assistant to the administrator of the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance at USAID, joined Ambassador David M. Satterfield to explore the far-reaching implications of these shifts, as well as the past role of foreign aid in promoting U.S. interests — and the challenge of justifying such aid domestically.

This conversation was recorded in front of a live studio audience on April 8, 2025.

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