Refugees International President Jeremy Konyndyk Speaks at a Senate Roundtable on the Implications of Halting U.S. Foreign Assistance

By Jeremy Konyndyk |

On February 12, 2025, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, convened Democratic Senators for a roundtable discussion with experts on the national security implications of halting U.S. foreign assistance and dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Watch the full roundtable here.

Refugees International President Jeremy Konyndyk joined the discussion as a panelist and shared his insights, having served in USAID under the Biden and Obama administrations. Watch his remarks:

Congressional participants included:

Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)
Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT)
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI)
Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ)
Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ)

Panelists included:

Bruce Swartz, Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, and Counselor for International Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice
Sarah Charles, Former Assistant to the Administrator for Humanitarian Affairs, U.S. Agency for International Development
Jeremy Konyndyk, President, Refugees International
Cindy Dyer, Former Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State