Henrietta Fore reflects on USAID–State merger debate : Shared by Tom McDermott

Our former ED, Henrietta Fore, is back in the news, reflecting on the period in which she was managing both the US State Department's Foreign Assistance Bureau and USAID.  Although she laments the loss of so many experienced staff at USAID, she remains a supporter of the consolidation. Fore is now the CEO of Holsman International, which is an investment, advisory and management services company.  

Tom

 

Henrietta Fore reflects on USAID–State merger debate

By Devex staff; Oral History Interview by Alex Shakow
Devex / Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training

Click here for the article: Devex
Click here for the article: ADST Oral History PDF

Summary
Henrietta Fore, former USAID Administrator and now CEO of Holsman International, has spoken openly about her experience managing both USAID and the State Department’s Foreign Assistance Bureau during the George W. Bush administration. At the time, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pursued a merger concept that would consolidate policy authority and budget under the Secretary of State. Fore said she believed it was “a smart idea” and noted that, in business, such streamlining would have been done immediately. She argued that the U.S. government could benefit from similar efficiencies. However, she also lamented the dismantling of USAID during the Trump years, stressing that the loss of experienced staff has left the agency in need of rebuilding.

Her oral history expands on this dual role: as both USAID Administrator and Coordinator of U.S. Foreign Assistance, she oversaw budgets and personnel across agencies, consolidating disparate aid streams including Defense, Agriculture, Treasury, Education, and PEPFAR. She recalled that this arrangement allowed the U.S. to present a unified front abroad and to launch initiatives such as the Development Leadership Initiative to rebuild USAID’s professional staff. She emphasized that the arrangement worked partly because senior officials at State, USAID, and related agencies already had strong working relationships, enabling coordination that made U.S. foreign assistance appear cohesive rather than fragmented.

Quotes

• “[Rice] had the concept that the secretary of state could benefit from having the politics as well as the money in her control and under her direction. And I think it was a smart idea.” (Devex)

• “We could streamline this. If you look at corporations, we would do it immediately. So why can't we do that in government?” (Devex)

• “It allowed me to come in and not miss a beat once I was confirmed, and to see if we could launch the development leadership initiative to increase the number of foreign service officers at USAID.” (ADST Oral History)

• “We do not come as a group of individuals who come in succession. We come as a group that’s coordinated, we know our section of it, and we move it.” (ADST Oral History)

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