THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2026 71 AFSA NEWS Service Disrupted What Comes Next for Foreign Assistance? One year after the effective end of USAID, three experts with deep ties to the agency gathered for another installment of AFSA’s “Service Disrupted” webinar series on September 9 to grapple with a central question: What should come after the wood chipper? The panelists, former USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios, former USAID civil servant and author Nicholas Enrich, and AFSA Governing Board member Austan Mogharabi, reflected on the human and strategic costs of the agency’s dismantling before turning to proposals for rebuilding U.S. foreign assistance. Enrich, whose book, Into the Wood Chipper, chronicles the agency’s collapse, said the warnings he raised early on have “unfortunately” come to pass, citing hundreds of thousands of deaths in the year since USAID’s programs were dismantled, with millions more projected in years ahead. Natsios pointed to concrete consequences often overlooked by the American public, including the loss of early warning systems for natural disasters and the collapse of a health data network, established under the Reagan administration, that once helped detect disease outbreaks including Ebola. The panelists offered different perspectives on what should replace the agency. Natsios called for a new, cabinet-level Department of International Development that would consolidate aid functions and restore a decentralized mission structure. Enrich argued against simply reviving USAID as it existed, instead favoring a stand-alone agency built around more flexible funding. Mogharabi suggested that reviving USAID through existing legislation may prove more politically achievable than standing up an entirely new department. All three pushed back on the administration’s rebranding of foreign assistance as “trade, not aid,” with Natsios citing MIT research showing USAID missions historically helped U.S. businesses enter new markets abroad. Natsios also cited internal polling suggesting growing unease among evangelical and Catholic conservative voters over the agency’s dismantling, which he said is prompting quiet political recalibration within the Republican Party. Audience questions focused heavily on advocacy and next steps, with many attendees asking what ordinary supporters of foreign assistance could do to help reverse the damage. Panelists urged supporters to stay engaged through storytelling, community outreach, and continued pressure on lawmakers. “It’s not over,” Mogharabi promised. This webinar coincided with the release of the FSJ’s September-October issue, dedicated to documenting USAID’s legacy and the consequences of its dismantling. A full recording of the webinar is available at https://www.youtube.com/ @AFSAtube. n Money Worries Beyond the Numbers Why do so many financially secure Foreign Service members still worry about money? That question anchored AFSA’s September 15 webinar with William Carrington, a certified financial planner, and Dr. Huong Diep, a board-certified clinical psychologist and certified financial therapist. Carrington has found that “understanding your financial life often relieves more anxiety than simply having more money.” Diep focused on what happens when the numbers look fine but the worry persists. The brain, she explained, can react to a market drop as it would to a snake on a trail: “The numbers may say safety, but our body may remember danger.” Diep walked through four “money scripts” identified by researchers Brad and Ted Klontz: avoidance, worship, status, and vigilance. Vigilance is a common pattern—in a poll of registrants, 68 percent said closely monitoring their finances helps them feel safer. That habit can be healthy, Diep noted, until it keeps people from enjoying money they can afford to spend. A recording of the webinar is available on the AFSA website at https://afsa.org/afsa-videos, and more from the presenters is at https://carringtonfp.com and https://drhdiep.com. For retirement questions, contact AFSA Counselor for Alumni and Retirees Brian Himmelsteib at himmelsteib@ afsa.org. n AFSA WEBINARS
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