Durbin Slams Trump Administration For Gutting Global Health Programs
In his remarks, Durbin criticized the Trump Administration for gutting PEPFAR, a program that has helped save 26 million lives from AIDS
WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke out against President Trump’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026, which guts programs for foreign aid that have historically had bipartisan support. Durbin spoke specifically about the dangers of defunding programs that have dramatically curtailed the devastating impact of AIDS across the globe.
“I didn’t agree with former President George W. Bush on a lot of things, but I have repeatedly given him credit for making the United States the world’s leader in stemming the HIV/AIDS epidemic in some of the poorest parts of the world,” Durbin said. “The plan was called the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief – PEPFAR.”
During the height of the AIDS crisis, the disease was killing more than two million people a year globally and left 14 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the establishment of PEPFAR, along with its companion effort, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, has saved 26 million lives, significantly reversing this deadly trend.
“These programs are not only the right thing to do, but also highly effective examples of American soft power, and until recently, a stark contrast to what China and others display around the world were doing,” Durbin said.
Yet, despite the proven effectiveness of these global programs, President Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk have gutted these critical programs at USAID.
“So imagine my reaction to the Trump Administration’s decision, at the highest level, to gut this lifesaving, bipartisan program under the heartless tutelage of the President’s unelected billionaire buddy, Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world,” Durbin said. “Gleefully, senselessly, dancing on stage with a chainsaw, so that he [Elon Musk] can cut programs just like President Bush’s PEPFAR.”
Because the Trump Administration has eviscerated USAID, experts estimate that the health of more than 20 million people worldwide, including 500,000 children, has been jeopardized.
“What a contrast. Republican President George W. Bush will go down in history as a caring man, who symbolized what the United States means to the world,” Durbin said. “The Trump Administration says that no programs were actually cut, just paused. The reality is far different.”
In addition to halting funding, the Trump Administration has fired legions of federal workers who work on critical disease prevention programs.
“Just last month, the Trump Administration dismissed the few remaining public health officials overseeing programs for pregnant women with HIV in low-income countries,” Durbin continued. “All the experts at the Centers for Disease Control, the State Department, and USAID have been terminated or are waiting for reassignment. That’s the Trump record. That’s what he’ll be remembered for in history.”
“Even with some funding restored, how will critical work continue without professional staff to carry it out? Like so many White House policies, this is cruelty and madness and certainly not [about] efficiency,” Durbin said.
Durbin concluded his remarks by calling on his colleagues to reject President Trump’s cruel budget proposal.
“In upcoming funding bills and any rescissions effort, it will be up to Congress, all of us in Congress… but Democrats and Republicans together, to protect and restore these critical lifesaving programs that are both the right thing to do and strategic thing to do,” Durbin concluded his remarks.
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
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