Donald Trump’s administration has been admonished for what insiders called an “embarrassing” and “pitiful” disaster response. Nepal and China are reeling after a huge mudslide devastated mountain valleys in the Himalayas. Believed to have been triggered by a glacial collapse, it has killed at least 1,000 people and left more than 4,000 missing. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, which has seen around 85 Americans go missing, the U.S. State Department gave just $500,0000 in aid. That number has now been upped to around $3.6 million, which will be used to feed 10,000 affected homes. Some critics say it still falls short. A former USAID disaster response team director, Mark Ward, called the response “embarrassing for the United States and a bit of a slap at Nepal.” The Brookings Institution’s George Ingram agreed. “I was embarrassed for America,” the former House foreign affairs committee staffer said, calling the initial offering of half a million “pitiful.” Trump took a hammer to USAID upon his return to the White House, and what was left was absorbed by Marco Rubio’s State Department. The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and State Department for comment.
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