Will the Courts Save American Foreign Aid?

 The New York Times published on 3 November 2025 an article titled "The Monthslong Legal Battle to Save Foreign Aid" by Zach Montague.

During the past 9 months, the Trump administration dismantled the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and continues efforts to end most foreign aid.  The courts are the final obstacle to this effort as the US Congress remains AWOL.  The courts have not yet settled the core issues at stake although USAID no longer exists as an organization. 

700 Plus State Department/USAID Personnel Voice Dissent on USAID Dismantlement

 The Bulwark published on 5 March 2025 an article titled "Hundreds of State Department Officials Sign Dissent Cable Urging Rubio to Stop Killing USAID" by Sam Stein.  

In an extraordinary situation, more than 700 US foreign service and civil service employees with USAID and the State Department in Washington and overseas missions have signed on to a dissent cable to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to stop the dismantling of USAID.

The cable argues that the dismantling "endangers American lives, weakens our global standing, cedes influence to authoritarian competitors, and undermines our economic dominance.  We urge a course correction before irreparable damage is done to U.S. leadership, security, and moral authority in the world."  The dissent cable may have minimal impact, however, as DOGE and the Trump administration have already largely reduced USAID to rubble.  

US Supreme Court Orders Sudan to Pay Punitive Damages

The New York Times published on 18 May 2020 an article titled "Sudan Must Pay Billions to Terrorism Victims, Supreme Court Rules" by Adam Liptak. 

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Sudan must pay as much as $4.3 billion in punitive damages to victims of the 1998 bombing of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.  Sudan's economy is in shambles; it is not clear what will be the practical effect of this ruling.

Kenya's Election: Failure of Technology or Governance?

World Politics Review published on 3 October 2017 an analysis titled "Is Kenya's Election Debacle a Failure of Technology or Good Governance?" by Jeffrey Smith, executive director of Vanguard Africa, and Arthur Gwagwa, Sub-Saharan Africa Cyber Regionalism and Elections project.

The authors suggest the argument that technological challenges doomed the Kenyan election overlooks the lack of good governance and respect for democratic rights in Kenya, which caused the election to fall well short of democratic standards in the first place.

Kenya's Repeated Election

The International Crisis Group (ICG) published on 4 September 2017 a statement titled "Kenya: A Historic Decision, A Tough Road Ahead."

The ICG concluded that the Supreme Court's decision represents a victory for the independence of Kenya's judiciary and the rule of law. The onus now shifts to the country's politicians, and to those in the international community with influence over them, to act responsibly so that Kenyans can witness a smooth, peaceful and credible vote by the the of October.

Kenya's Historic New Election

Foreign Policy published on 1 September 2017 an article titled "In Unprecedented Reversal, Kenya's Top Court Throws Out Election Result" by Ty McCormick.

Kenya's Supreme Court has invalidated due to vote counting irregularities Kenya's recent election that resulted in a victory for incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has accepted the Court's decision. A new election is to take place within 60 days.