Friend –
Happy Thanksgiving (almost). It’s a time to take stock in all that I am grateful for – and for me, in addition to my six grandchildren under the age of six 😊, I am so thankful that you are part of our community. This has certainly been a complicated year in our sector, yet your voice has been central in lifting up powerful stories of America making a difference in the world, while advancing our economic and security interests here at home.
Before the holiday begins, let me share a few of these stories—
International Scene. In addition to the high-stakes diplomacy to end Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine (more on that below), here are a few items you may have missed:
- America sent humanitarian aid into the Philippines and Jamaica after devastating disasters
- The State Department deployed disaster relief teams (DART) to Jamaica and Gaza
- Bilateral global health agreements are being actively negotiated with partner nations
- And the Administration is turning attention to the profound crisis in Sudan
USGLC’s New Blueprint Launch. While we are engaging differently in the world, we aren’t pulling back, which is why USGLC’s Blueprint to modernize international assistance continues to be taken seriously.
- Last week, bipartisan members of Congress, along with military, business, and humanitarian leaders, joined us at a standing-room only launch of our new addendum with fresh ideas on “The Road to a Safer, Stronger, More Prosperous America.”
Inaugural Mayors’ Foreign Policy Summit. USGLC held an impressive session, co-hosted with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), for dozens of mayors from across the country who truly understand that America’s leadership in the world has a direct impact on kitchen table issues in their local communities. Check out this video recap.
Last but not least, I hope I will see you on December 9 for USGLC’s very special annual gathering: Tribute to Partnership & Impact: USGLC at 30. We will be honoring America’s veterans, farmers, and small businesses. You won’t want to miss this one. Details here.
Read on for more in this pre-Thanksgiving edition of the GLOBAL GAB:
- Trump’s Pollster on Aid
- Blueprint For America in the World
- Russia-Ukraine Diplomacy
- Development Finance Limbo
- Darting to Help
- Middle East Peace
- Sudan’s Desperation
- Critical Minerals Race
- America’s Best Leaders
With thanks and happy holiday,
Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGLC
THE GLOBAL GAB: Thanksgiving Update
November 25, 2025
TRUMP’S POLLSTER ON AID. A new McLaughlin & Associates poll found that 77% of Americans support international assistance that serves American interests. President Trump’s long-time pollster, John McLaughlin, told Newsmax: “It’s not a surprise when it’s used for our strategic interests and true humanitarian aid.” Snapshot of the results:
- 81% support international assistance programs using U.S.-made products – delivering for those in need AND American workers.
- 76% of Trump voters view strategic international assistance as America First – countering rivals like China, Russia, and Iran.
- 73% back public-private partnerships to deliver assistance directly through American-made products.
- And more than half of voters say cuts to international assistance have weakened America's global superpower status – but accountability is key.
» Check out Liz’s new video breaking down the findings
BLUEPRINT FOR AMERICA IN THE WORLD. To keep up with the fast pace of policy discussions, USGLC released a follow-up addendum to our Blueprint for America to Win in the World, with fresh recommendations and ideas on how to reform and modernize international assistance to deliver on American interests, called “The Road to a Safer, Stronger, More Prosperous America.”
- Signatories to the addendum included military leaders and many conservatives who served in President Trump’s first Administration (see full list of signers here).
- At a highly attended launch event, bipartisan policymakers, including Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) and Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL), emphasized the importance of strategic and effective international assistance, which Rep. Frankel said “helps prevent conflicts, create new markets, stop disease before it reaches our shores, and counter the growing influence of China, Russia, and Iran.”
- Rep. Kim added that “we all share a common understanding: America must lead, not retreat, in a world that has higher stakes than any that we've seen.”
- Ideas from the Blueprint are already being incorporated by the Administration and Congress in policies and legislation drafts.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE DEAL? As the Trump Administration works to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, high stakes negotiations continue between U.S. and Russian officials in Abu Dhabi today with Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle weighing in to ensure the deal is just and lasting for Ukraine
- An initial secret 28-point draft plan – that Richard Haass called “one-sided in the extreme” towards Russia – was revealed last week and panned by a wide array of senators, Evangelical leaders, national security experts, and European leaders.
- One of the most outspoken voices was Pastor Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, who wrote: “This so-called ‘peace’ plan is nothing of the sort. It rewards aggression, legitimizes theft, and leaves Ukraine’s wounds wide open… By allowing Russia to retain stolen land, stolen people, and stolen churches, the plan would cement the very objectives Putin set out to achieve.”
- Secretary Marco Rubio led the urgent weekend talks with a high-level Ukrainian delegation in Geneva to arrive at a new 19-point framework that incorporated Ukraine’s positions which he called the “most productive and meaningful meetings so far in this entire process.”
- U.S. officials just reported this morning that Ukraine has accepted the new current framework with “some minor details to be sorted out.”
- There’s still plenty of diplomacy left with Ukrainian officials suggesting a potential visit for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the U.S. to “complete final steps and make a deal with President Trump,” though it is unclear what Putin will do next.
- Next week, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations, is expected to hold a hearing focused on Russia’s kidnapping of over 19,000 Ukrainian children -- an issue that First Lady Melania Trump has been personally engaged on too.
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE LIMBO. Among Congress’s must-pass legislation is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)—there is great hope that it will include a provision to reauthorize the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which plays a critical role in countering China, supporting key allies, and advancing infrastructure projects to lift up developing economies while securing critical global supply chains.
- The agency, which has enormous bipartisan support and was created during President Trump’s first term in office, lost the ability to make new investments when its authorization expired last month.
- As Foreign Policy’s Rachel Oswald explains, while “[the DFC] is now positioned to become the centerpiece of [President Trump’s] ‘America First’ approach to international assistance… Republican and Democratic lawmakers are in the thick of negotiations,” which largely center around over whether to permit lending to wealthy countries rather than just developing nations.
» See Liz’s statement here on the urgency of breaking through the logjam
DARTING TO HELP. In response to Hurricane Melissa battering the Caribbean and consecutive super-typhoons punishing the Philippines, the State Department is ramping up its response infrastructure as it takes on a new role as the humanitarian assistance lead since absorbing USAID. While much smaller than previous Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DART), nonetheless, America has now deployed these specialty teams to Jamaica and Gaza.
- Support by the numbers: $22 million to Jamaica, $11 million to Haiti, $3 million to Cuba in coordination with the Catholic Church, $1.5 million to the Philippines, $500,000 to the Bahamas.
» Watch Liz’s video here on how the U.S. is showing up for its neighbors
MIDDLE EAST PEACE. Despite the fragility of the Middle East ceasefire plan, the U.S. flexed its diplomatic muscles last week, with the United Nations Security Council approving President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, which includes authorizing an International Stabilization Force and international financial mechanisms to drive urgent reconstruction.
- In another potentially impactful development, after President Trump’s meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last week, MBS signaled interest in joining the Abraham Accords—the historic normalization agreement between Israel and several Arab neighbors—provided there’s a clear pathway towards eventual Palestinian statehood.
SUDAN’S DESPERATION. After the Oval Office meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohamad Bin Salman, President Trump said the U.S. would work with key Middle Eastern partners to end the atrocities in Sudan, adding on Truth Social that “Sudan has become the most violent place on Earth and, likewise, the single biggest Humanitarian Crisis. Food, doctors, and everything else are desperately needed." Here’s where the situation stands and why it matters:
- Tens of thousands killed, 12 million displaced, and 30 million in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, and with no signs that Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is slowing attacks, Secretary Rubio said last week: “Something needs to be done to cut off the weapons and the support that the RSF is getting as they continue with their advances.”
- The “Quad” – the U.S., Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – proposed a three-month humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire, but the Sudanese army rejected it on Monday.
CRITICAL MINERALS RACE. The Trump Administration is making critical minerals a foreign policy priority by expanding and securing new supply chains as China tightens its control over the market.
- During his trip to Southeast Asia, President Trump signed two Memorandums of Understanding with Thailand and Malaysia to build critical mineral supply chains in Southeast Asia, creating alternative markets with refining capacity beyond China.
» Read Liz’s LinkedIn blog post on her takeaways from the MOUs - The Administration also announced mineral deals during his summit with Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
- ICYMI: The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a new report on China’s manipulation of critical mineral markets urging more U.S. funding and action.
- Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI): “From cell phones to fighter jets, every American is dependent on minerals that China manipulates for its own selfish interests… China has a loaded gun that is pointed at our economy, and we must act quickly.”
- Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): “Last month, with the announcement of its new rare earths export control regime, the CCP showed just how dangerous our dependence has become. Working with allies around the world and environmental and labor rights stakeholders, America must usher in a new chapter when it comes to critical minerals and rare earths.”
AMERICA’S BEST LEADERS. U.S. News & World Report named two USGLC leaders among their 25 Best Leaders in America! Congratulations to General Laura Richardson—co-chair of USGLC’s National Security Advisory Council and former head of U.S. Southern Command— and Tjada D'Oyen McKenna—USGLC Board Member and CEO of Mercy Corp.
- On Gen. Richardson: “Over a 38-year military career, Richardson, an all-American swimmer who got her pilot’s license at 16, went from being an army helicopter pilot to a four-star general... Richardson went for a ‘whole-of-government’ approach – a combination of hard and soft power – working closely with colleagues at the departments of State, Commerce, Treasury and even NASA to pull off America’s strategic and national security goals in the hemisphere... in service of ‘Team America.’”
- On Tjada McKenna: “Last year, Mercy Corps’ work reached more than 38 million people in countries such as Haiti, Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar and Indonesia. Seeing this impact – how the programs make a difference in people’s lives – is McKenna’s favorite part of the job.”
» Read more about their incredible service and leadership
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