As Trump guts foreign aid, China and others lead Myanmar earthquake response

The U.S. is largely absent from the international response to a devastating earthquake in Myanmar amid President Donald Trump's deep cuts to foreign aid.

BANGKOK — Chinese rescuers have freed six people from the rubble of an earthquake in Myanmar, including a child and a pregnant woman, Chinese state media reported Monday, placing Beijing at the forefront of an international rescue effort from which the United States has been largely absent.

Rescue teams from India, Malaysia, Russia, Thailand and other countries have already arrived in Myanmar, where the military-led government says the death toll from a 7.7-magnitude earthquake Friday has surpassed 2,000, a figure that is expected to rise.

But a U.S. team has yet to appear at the scene of the quake in the Southeast Asian nation, which occurred the same day the State Department informed thousands of employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which administers civilian foreign aid, that nearly all of their roles were being eliminated.

Critics have warned that President Donald Trump’s cuts to U.S. foreign aid, which had previously accounted for less than 1% of the annual federal budget, could create an opening for authoritarian governments such as China and Russia that are trying to increase their global influence.

Muslims affected by the earthquake mark the end of Ramadan during prayers on the street in Mandalay on Monday.Sai Aung Main / AFP via Getty ImagesThe U.S. Embassy in Myanmar, one of the world’s poorest countries, said Sunday in a post on X that the U.S. would provide up to $2 million in aid through Myanmar-based humanitarian assistance organizations.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/myanmar-earthquake-rescue-trump-usaid-china-rcna198818

---