GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley pledges to cut billions in foreign aid to China, other US adversaries

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is breaking from the Washington establishment on foreign aid, promising to stop sending billions of taxpayer dollars to “anti-American countries and causes.” 

In an op-ed for the New York Post published Friday, Haley criticized both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations for how they’ve handled foreign aid, noting that the U.S. spent $46 billion last year aiding countries like Iraq, Pakistan, and even China. 

“This is not just Joe Biden. It’s been happening for decades under presidents of both parties. Our foreign-aid policies are stuck in the past. They typically operate on autopilot, with no consideration for the conduct of the countries that receive our aid,” Haley wrote. 

“The Washington bureaucracy and its defenders in Congress inevitably dig in to save these global giveaways. It will take a determined president to root out these taxpayer rip-offs,” she said.

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Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley greets people as she announces her run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination at a campaign event in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. February 15, 2023. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

Haley specifically called out aid to Iraq and Pakistan, countries where terrorist organizations operate and the governments are not pro-America. 

And, as a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., she slammed the Biden administration for restoring funding to the United Nations Relief and Works agency, which exists to help Palestinian refugees but Haley asserted “covers for deeply anti-Semitic propaganda against our ally Israel.” 

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The U.S. provides foreign aid to Belarus, which is Russia’s closest ally.  (Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool via REUTERS)

“American taxpayers still give money to Communist China for ridiculous environment programs, despite the obvious threat China poses to Americans. We give money to Belarus, which is Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s closest ally. We even give money to Communist Cuba — a country our own government has designated as a state sponsor of terrorism,” Haley wrote.

If elected president, Haley said she would “cut every cent in foreign aid for countries that hate us.” 

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2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration.  (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

“A strong America doesn’t pay off the bad guys. A proud America doesn’t waste our people’s hard-earned money,” she continued. “And the only leaders who deserve our trust are those who stand up to our enemies and stand beside our friends.”

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She insists that she will be such a president. 

Haley declared her candidacy for president two weeks ago, joining former President Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican primary. Trump welcomed her and other would-be challengers into the race, saying, “the more the merrier.” Health care and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is also running for president as a Republican, and many more candidates are texpected to toss their hats into the ring before the year ends.