How Sen. Chris Van Hollen plans to flex Democratic power on the foreign aid front
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Hollen → plan → front
"We need new leadership," says Senator Chris Van Hollen, who on Thursday announced he will challenge Chuck Schumer for Democratic majority leader.
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he → need → leader
Van Hollen has garnered support among Democrats for his sharp criticism of the Trump administration, including their upheaval of U.S. programs to promote health and end poverty around the world.
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Hollen → garner → world
In an interview with NPR on Tuesday, two days before his announcement, Van Hollen spoke to NPR about his plans to "shine a light on all the harm and damage the Trump administration's done to our country and our interests around the world" — and what the Democrats hope to accomplish with foreign aid.
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Democrats → speak → aid
As the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee, which oversees the State Department and what's left of the United States Agency for International Development, he could have considerable sway over how Congress investigates and legislates on foreign aid.
uncertain
Congress → rank → aid
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
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interview → edit → clarity
NPR reached out to the State Department for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
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NPR → reach → publication
You've taken a strong stand against the Trump administration's shakeup of foreign aid.
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You → take → aid
You led protests against the dissolution of USAID and in a hearing last year told Secretary of State Marco Rubio that "People died because of those actions, mothers, fathers and children."
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People → lead → actions
You've also authored statements condemning a range of actions, including tying health aid to mineral deals.
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You → author → deals
In the majority, what's the first step you'd take on the aid front?
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you → take → front
Priority number one is to do an analysis of all the harm the Trump administration has done.
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administration → do → harm
There have been very credible analyses showing that over 700,000 people around the world died between January 2025 and January 2026 because of cuts to USAID.
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people → show → USAID
If these trends continue, you're talking about millions of people dying in the coming years.
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millions → continue → years
One of the great benefits of being in the majority, is you actually have a gavel and can call a public hearing, and use that as a spotlight to help educate people around the country.
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you → have → country
We can do that to show the consequences of Elon Musk taking a chainsaw to USAID.
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Musk → do → USAID
I remember to this day a scene at the White House [in February 2025] when Donald Trump was at his desk and Elon Musk was standing behind him, and a reporter asked Elon Musk about the cuts to fighting Ebola, and Elon Musk's response was essentially, "Whoops, yeah, we missed that."
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we → remember → that
And then he claimed that they'd restored it.
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they → claim → it
Well, we know that they've not restored it adequately — there's good evidence that the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo could have been better contained if the United States had not made big cuts to public health.
uncertain
States → know → health
We can investigate what they did, not for the purpose of putting it back exactly as it was but understanding the damage that has been done, fully, with an eye toward reforming it.
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that → investigate → it
You've already been speaking out against a lot of this in the minority. What kinds of actions can Democrats take as a majority that they couldn't before?
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they → speak → that
Being in the majority makes a big difference.
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Being → make → difference
Now we have many more tools available, specifically through the power of the purse.
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tools → have → purse
One of the things the Trump administration has done is essentially sit on funds appropriated by the Congress for public health here at home but also for international health programs.
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administration → do → programs
So there's an example where we can much better safeguard the will of the Congress now that we're in the majority.
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we → be → majority
Can you give an example?
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you → give → example
One of the things the Administration did was to rescind over $500 million in funds for global health.
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Administration → do → health
In other words, they cut it, and you had a rubber stamp majority in the Congress.
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you → cut → Congress
You would never get Democrats to agree.
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Democrats → get → ?
There's another ongoing example right now, which is a number of years ago, we passed about $1.5 billion in funds for [global] public health, and it appears that they're using those funds not for public health but to wind down USAID.
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they → be → USAID
So this is an area where we could say no, you may not use these funds to wind down USAID.
uncertain
you → say → USAID
The administration has been ignoring a lot of these "no's" so far. What gives those "no's" more weight in the majority?
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What → ignore → majority
When we in Congress provide a sum of money, for say public health, we say this money should be spent on these specific items, like vaccinations or clinics.
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money → provide → vaccinations
It's technically called report language, and this report language used to be respected by Democratic and Republican presidents.
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language → call → presidents
The Trump administration has ignored report language because it's not technically legally binding, and Republicans in the Congress have let them get away with it.
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them → ignore → it
And the more they let them get away with it, the more they do it.
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they → let → it
So we're going to have to convert what used to be report language into real law to prevent this administration from taking those actions.
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what → go → actions
We Democrats have been trying to do that, but since we've been in the minority, we haven't been able to get that passed.
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that → try → minority
What if the administration still tries to hold up funds or ignore or veto Congress' actions?
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administration → try → actions
But being in the majority will give us more leverage.
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being → give → leverage
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
