Where this was said
USAID's Dismantling: Sudan Pays the Price
At 58:46 · chapter starts 56:20
The segment opens with a Council on Foreign Relations report by Sam Vickersky detailing the systematic mismanagement of Food for Peace since it was transferred from USAID to the Agriculture Department. Two of the seven recipient countries — El Salvador and Rwanda — meet no emergency humanitarian standard and appear to have received aid as political favors. Sudan, facing the world's worst hunger crisis with 21 million people needing food and 40% of community kitchens now closed [2] — Tommy Vietor "USAID gutted: 40% of Sudan kitchens closed: Since USAID was dismantled, 40% of Sudan's community kitchens have closed, worsening what the W…" 57:21 , is receiving nothing [1] — Tommy Vietor "Sudan: 21M people need food: The WHO reported at the start of 2025 that over 20 million people in Sudan required health assistance and 21 m…" 57:35 . Tommy calls it evil, plain and simple. Ben draws the sharpest contrast in the episode: Elon Musk became a trillionaire while USAID was being dismantled. He argues Democrats cannot forget the responsibility to build a better development agency post-Trump, and floats a wealth tax specifically on Musk's fortune as a mechanism to fund it, noting that USAID's entire annual budget is a rounding error of one person's wealth.
Since USAID was gutted, Food for Peace was handed to a department with zero disaster expertise. Rwanda and El Salvador — Trump political favorites — are getting aid. Sudan, with 21 million people facing starvation and the world's worst hunger crisis, is getting nothing.
Since USAID was dismantled, 40% of Sudan's community kitchens have closed, worsening what the WHO identified as the world's worst hunger crisis.
The WHO reported at the start of 2025 that over 20 million people in Sudan required health assistance and 21 million desperately needed food.
