Secretary of State Marco Rubio was again asked about the USAID review pause and the likely impact to the matrix of NGO’s and financial dependents, including the families of DC politicians, if funding is not quickly restarted. WATCH:
WASHINGTON DC – […] Some of these anticipated layoffs have already begun. According to an email obtained by POLITICO, early last week development group Credence Management Solutions sent formal emails to contractors in its global health bureau laying off around 400 employees.
The CEO of DT Global, one of the world’s leading development contractors, reportedly told employees last week that 2,000 to 3,000 positions would likely be eliminated in the sector the first week of February. Both Credence Management Solutions and DT Global did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is traveling through Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic as he represents President Trump and the new administration. He’s doing great.
Today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered remarks to reporters in El Salvador discussing his role as Acting Director of USAID after President Trump and Elon Musk moved to incorporate USAID into the State Department. Secretary Rubio repeated that USAID must align with U.S. foreign policy and the national interests of the U.S. government.
Citing the “uncooperative” nature of the USAID leadership acting as an independent entity, Secretary Rubio announced he is now Acting Director of USAID with the intention of removing all elements who operate against the direct U.S. interests he outlined. Additionally, Secretary Rubio affirmed the positive nature of President Trump’s call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum [Details soon]. WATCH:
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WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) – The Trump administration over the weekend put on administrative leave dozens more staff at U.S. Agency for International Development, three sources familiar with the move said, as it moves to abolish the agency’s independence and bring it under the control of the State Department.
Nearly 30 career staff in the agency’s Legislative and Public Affairs bureau lost access overnight to their emails, the sources said, bringing the total number of senior USAID career staff who have been put on leave over the past week close to 100.
Knowing the severe ramifications likely and taking a proactive approach toward root-cause analysis, CTH attended the ASEAN summit to gauge how Asia was likely to respond to Trump term-2 and the looming possibility of a severe nationalist approach toward a renewal of USA manufacturing. The untangling of the Beijing Belt & Road initiative was a key topic of interest noted. [Watch Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.]
Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Panama this weekend to express the position of President Donald Trump as it pertains to Chinese influence over the maritime transit gateway known as the Panama Canal. Following the meeting with President José Raúl Mulino, the government of Panama has announced they will no longer support China’s Belt & Road initiative.
STATE DEPT – Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino and Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha today in Panama City to address critical regional and global challenges. Secretary Rubio informed President Mulino and Minister Martínez-Acha that President Trump has made a preliminary determination that the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal and represents a violation of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal. Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty.
Not a surprising appointment all things considered. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has appointed Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to replace Senator Marco Rubio, pending Rubio’s resignation from his Senate seat which will follow his confirmation.
This will provide an opportunity to position DeSantis loyalist, his Chief of Staff, James Uthmeier, as Florida Attorney General to replace Moody. This also positions congressman Byron Donalds to run for Florida Governor, supporting the MAGA coalition.
Moody will take up a pro-DeSantis position in the Senate in preparation for a head-to-head contest between Ron DeSantis and JD Vance in 2028 for the GOP presidential nomination. As senator, Ashley Moody will be unlikely to challenge any of the Trump agenda and will likely support it given the stakes for Ron. All in all, a predictable outcome.
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The alligator emojis will be happy, so too will the MAGA coalition.
The U.S. State Department has decided to punish the country of Georgia for refusing to become a replacement for Ukraine, and for voting to remain free from U.S/EU influence. Georgia says, fine – they prefer Donald Trump anyway!
The State Dept has terminated a strategic partnership with the nation of Georgia, choosing to end the relationship now that a new nationalist government has pulled back from joining the European Union. Additionally, U.S Ambassador David Zalkaliani has resigned his post in the country and will return to the USA.
U.S. Ambassador to Georgia, David Zalkaliani, stands with interventionist Lindsey Graham
Despite the official diplomatic withdrawals, as the western funded riots on the streets of Tbilisi continue, it would appear that Samantha Power (USAID) and the CIA are still conducting opposition operations within the country. ‘All your elections are belong to us.’
EUROPE – The United States suspended its strategic partnership with Georgia on Saturday, condemning the country’s decision to pause its efforts toward accession to the European Union amid unprecedented protests against the move.
“The decision by Georgian Dream to suspend Georgia’s EU accession process goes against the promise to the Georgian people enshrined in their constitution to pursue full integration into the European Union and NATO,” the State Department wrote in a statement. “By suspending Georgia’s EU accession process, Georgian Dream has rejected the opportunity for closer ties with Europe and made Georgia more vulnerable to the Kremlin.”
This move takes Marco Rubio out of the position of Chairman for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI). That’s the sum value of this move, and the companion reason for President Trump to appoint Steven C. Witkoff to be Special Envoy to the Middle East. (link)
Senator Marco Rubio will be State Dept Secretary with a short leash and a very limited portfolio. However, from his perspective the political status and future value is awesome. It will be interesting to see: (1) who is appointed chairman of the SSCI, and (2) who Ron DeSantis appoints as Rubio’s replacement.
If you look at the structure of the announcements, there does appear to be a strategy at play; yes, including the likelihood of Marco Rubio as Secretary of State.
Using the announcement of Steven C. Witkoff to be Special Envoy to the Middle East, I’ll try to put it together.
If President Trump pulls Marco Rubio out of the Senate, he opens up the position of Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI). Rubio would love the opportunity to load his presidential aspiration resume with Secretary of State, for later use. However, this also opens the opportunity for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to appoint an interim senator who would be more MAGA-minded, trustworthy and loyal (dare I say Gaetz).
With Rubio removed from the equation of the IC problem, the issue becomes mitigating (think neutering) the Secretary of State from undermining the Trump Doctrine; which, as you know, is the key Trump foreign policy approach using economic power combined with diplomacy.
President Trump has long expressed being sick and tired of U.S. mid-east policy, endless wars, endless spending etc. President Trump in term-1 created the Abraham Accords to establish long-term peace and stability in the region, as a countermeasure to all the prior administrations stirring shit up there. Essentially, the Abraham Accords create peace, get us out and allow policy to focus on more pressing foreign concerns, vis-a-vis China.
If the basic story unfolding in Mar-a-Lago is to be believed, RFK JR, Elon Musk and a small group of technocrats and billionaires have become the ‘kitchen cabinet’ advisors putting the Trump administration together. Rumors swirl that Melania Trump, Devin Nunes and Dan Scavino have checked out of the ridiculous “non-clown-car” hot mess until the dust settles.
Adding evidence to this possibility, the media are starting to report on some rather, well, shall we say, curious picks from the Mar-a-Lago transition group.
Everyone else, except you guys, will miss what each of the New York Post “leaked” names have in common. They are all in direct alignment with the retention of the Intelligence Community as it exists. For the IC, this is the team that lets them hunker down until ’28.
♦ Rubio at State:
Rubio would be the IC pick because, well, he is Vice-Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and a direct installment due to his efforts to support the prior Trump targeting; which included the big assist to then Vice-Chair Mark Warner. The IC has super thick black files on Rubio, they’d love to have him at State. This rumor seems ridiculous.
The elected government of Hungary is NOT permitted to block, slow, stall, impede or otherwise interfere in the operations of the U.S. State Dept and CIA to control the nation of Hungary. The efforts of Hungary to maintain its sovereign status are NOT acceptable. So sayeth the institutions that ultimately seek control over other nations.
Given the years of protestations and claims about Russia interfering in USA politics, if those expressed positions against the Hungarian government sound like massive hypocrisy from the United States, you would be correct. But hey, that’s how the USA operates now.
Hungary is investigating the subversive activity of foreign interest groups inside the sovereign nation. The State Dept and CIA are furious.
BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Hungary’s Sovereignty Protection Office launched an investigation on Tuesday into the Hungarian branch of the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) and an online investigative outlet that focuses on corruption.
Hungary’s parliament passed a law late last year that set up an authority, the Sovereignty Protection Office, to explore and monitor risks of political interference.
The law, which has been criticised by the European Union, the United States and several international organisations, bans foreign financing for parties or groups running for election and carries punishments of up to three years in prison.
You may have heard of the protests in Tbilisi, Georgia recently. The protests are framed around what the State Dept and CIA call “Russian favored” legislation.
The Georgia legislation essentially says that domestic lobbyists, NGO’s, entities, groups and individuals who are funded more than 20% by foreign interests need to register as such.
Essentially, the USA law we call the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA), is what the country of Georgia is enacting in their own political landscape. However, the USA is not happy about the Georgia law to disclose the source of foreign funding (most of it anti-government) because the USA (specifically the State Dept and CIA) is the source of that funding.
This Georgia political scheme is yet another U.S. led color revolution in the same hues as 2014 Ukraine.
As noted by Global News, “in Georgia, protests have erupted over a proposed law requiring organizations with foreign funding to register their activities with the government. Critics compare the bill to similar legislation used to silence opposition groups in Russia. Thousands of Georgians marched through the capital, Tbilisi, on Sunday to voice their opposition to the bill, with opposition parties and civil society groups calling for mass protests against its expected passage.” WATCH:
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Dozens of people have been arrested in Georgia after police in the capital used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters who rallied outside Parliament to protest a controversial bill which they argue limits media freedom.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry said 63 people were arrested Tuesday while they took part in a demonstration in Tbilisi. Levan Khabeishvili, an opposition MP, posted a picture of himself on his social media accounts with a bloodied face and heavy bruising. Members of his party said he had been assaulted by police.
Those arrested were taking part in the latest in a series of protests against a bill which would require media and non-commercial organizations to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they get more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
