The U.S. State Department has announced a historic partnership pledging nearly $2 billion to faith-based organizations for global health and humanitarian aid.
Under the “America First Global Health Strategy,” groups like World Vision, Compassion International, and Samaritan’s Purse will receive up to $850 million over five years. Another $1.4 billion will support some 2,500 faith-based hospitals and clinics, while also training and paying frontline community health workers.
The assistance follows recent massive cuts to USAID and comes as the Trump administration reshapes how the United States delivers foreign aid. That is just one of a growing list of challenges facing the State Department, from Iran and Gaza to visa security here at home.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott recently sat down with CBN News National Security Correspondent Caitlin Burke for a wide-ranging conversation about how the U.S. is confronting those challenges.
Iran and the Strait of Hormuz
Burke: Zooming in on Iran first, Secretary Rubio says that there has been progress towards a deal on the Strait of Hormuz. How close are we, and what’s still standing in the way?
Pigott: What we’ve seen in this circumstance is the president being very clear from the beginning about his objective that the Iranian regime cannot have a nuclear weapon…We’ve seen the diplomatic door open again and again because the president prefers a deal, but he’s going to see this objective fulfilled one way or another.
Gaza and the President’s Peace Plan
On Gaza, the administration is also pushing forward with the president’s peace plan, even as questions remain over how exactly it will play out.
Burke: What does the U.S. believe happens first: Hamas disarms, or Israel withdraws?
Pigott: I think part of the president’s peace plan is to see a circumstance where you have Hamas disarming. That’s part of what’s contingent on this….In issues like this, with a long road ahead and a complex set of issues, you have to do more than one thing at once, and we’re committed to working through that, working with our partners, working with this unprecedented global coalition to see the president’s peace plan be implemented.
Visas and National Security
Here at home, Pigott says the State Department has revoked more than 175,000 visas since the beginning of the administration, with criminal activity among the leading reasons.
Pigott: The three most common criminal activities we’re seeing are DUIs, assaults, and thefts. And it comes down to the basic principle that we are not going to allow foreigners here on visas to drive drunk on our streets, to assault our people, to steal from our stores. We are not going to allow it. When we see criminal activity, we are going to take action.
Burke: What do you think is getting lost in the coverage of this issue right now?
Pigott: Fundamentally, when we think of border security, for example, we think of the Southwest border, but visa security is border security. It’s who we’re allowing to enter our country legally…And we’re going to uphold the standard that each visa decision is a national security decision.
Turning to Faith-Based Organizations
The administration is also reshaping U.S. foreign assistance, including turning to faith-based organizations to help get aid directly to people on the ground.
Burke: Can you talk about why those partnerships with those faith-based organizations are important?
Pigott: Oftentimes, it’s expertise. It’s making sure that money, when it’s spent, actually goes to the people that need it. It’s trusted partners that have a track record of delivering that assistance in a way that is effective.
In Cuba, the U.S. has committed up to $100 million in humanitarian assistance. Pigott says the goal is to get that aid to the Cuban people, without it being diverted by the government.
Pigott: We’re partnering with trusted third-party validators such as the Catholic Church. They can actually deliver this assistance through their local parishes, where they know the people, they know who needs it, and they can deliver that assistance where it’s not going to be taken by the regime.
Reason for Optimism
While there are significant global conflicts and crises demanding the administration’s attention, Pigott says he sees reason for optimism.
Pigott: I think it’s also an era where peace is happening as well. I think it’s an era where old problems that went unaddressed are now being addressed…Those small steps we take can have massive reverberations across history, and I think that’s what motivates us so much here.
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