DOGE attack on pro-democracy group draws timid response from Dan Sullivan
Sen. Dan Sullivan is chairman of the International Republican Institute, a nonprofit group created during the Reagan administration that he has led since the final days of Sen. John McCain’s life.
In the video below from 2022 you will hear Sullivan give a full-throated defense of the institute and its pro-democracy work in more than 100 countries around the world.
But now that GOP owner Elon Musk has wiped out federal funding for Sullivan’s organization as part of the attack on the U.S. Agency for International Development and other entities, Sullivan has offered only a timid defense for its work.
Sullivan said in December he was “excited to be an original member of the Senate DOGE caucus.” He will not criticize Musk or Trump, even when a group he leads has nearly been obliterated.
“I’ve been trying to work it because I think it’s a good organization,” Sullivan told the Washington Post about the attempt to save the IRI. “But it’s not perfect. It needs reform like everything else.”
The Musk/Trump regime has forced IRI to lay off most of its employees and start shutting down its offices overseas.
The group appears to be erasing evidence of its record and trying to lower its profile, claiming it can no longer afford to run its website. That claim is absurd.
The former website contained words that Sullivan should read:
“At IRI, we understand that advancing democracy worldwide is about empowering individuals on a personal level. Once people can raise their voices without fear, and participate in a free and fair political process, they will finally have the tools they need to build a democratic destiny in the country they call home.”
The former IRI website also once quoted Sullivan as saying: “I am proud to say that IRI is supportive of every endeavor that will bring freedom to more people. We have made progress in our mission by giving hope to those who wish to protest on a city street, run for office, or cast a ballot.”
The Republican institute, before Musk arrived, said it was proud to partner with USAID in “supporting democracy & human rights worldwide.” Its board includes GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton, Jodi Ernst and other members of the party.
It appears that Musk first learned about the IRI on February 2 and believed it was a government-funded arm of the Republican Party getting money from USAID. “Interesting. Is this legal?” he asked on X.
Musk has lied that USAID and other groups backing IRI are corrupt and criminal. Republicans in Congress have not denounced Musk’s lies.
There is a Democratic sister organization to IRI, the National Democratic Institute, that also gets federal funds for pro-democracy work, with no involvement in domestic U.S. politics.
Both receive federal money from the National Endowment for Democracy, which has filed suit against the Trump administration over what it claims is the unlawful action by the Trump administration blocking access to funds approved by Congress.
As he was dying in 2018, McCain resigned from the IRI chairmanship after 25 years and proposed that Sullivan take over IRI.
“As an outspoken advocate for America’s continued international leadership, he’ll make a superb chairman,” McCain was quoted as saying on August 3, 2018.
Unlike Sullivan, McCain would not have hesitated to take on the Musk/Trump attempt to erase the institute from the world scene.
During his annual speeches to present the John S. McCain International Freedom Award, Sullivan never mentioned that the IRI needed reform.
Instead, he offered glowing praise for the IRI track record and said he is proud of what it has accomplished.
In the presentation nearly three years ago, Sullivan reminded the audience of IRI’s growth and its record of success in the 40 years since its founding.
“I’m proud to say that IRI is supportive of every endeavor that will bring more freedom to more people,” Sullivan said in 2022.
“And we have made progress in our mission by giving hope to those who wish to protest on a city street or run for office or cast a ballot. We have also angered democracy’s enemies, which is another good sign of progress. Russia declared IRI a quote ‘undesirable organization’ unquote and kicked us out of the country. And we’ve been sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party. I think Dan Twining (president of IRI) in particular has been sanctioned so great job Dan on that one. You’re doing your job,” Sullivan said, applauding.
The promotion of democracy by America around the world “transcends domestic politics,” Sullivan claimed.
“Ukraine is a grim reminder that the work to protect and promote democracy, the work of IRI, is not for the faint of heart. It is hard work. It is dangerous work. It is work that people across the globe are fighting for and dying for,” Sullivan said.
Of the people of Ukraine, he said, “Despite great odds they are resisting heroically Putin’s barbaric assault.”
Sullivan has repeatedly claimed that IRI carries on the work envisioned by Reagan 40 years ago.
“We and the brave people we honor are that next generation,” Sullivan said at the IRI banquet in 2022.
But what happened when Musk/Trump made the International Republican Institute a target, ignored Congress and cut off its money?
The institute and its leaders, including Sullivan, surrendered in silence. So much for supporting democracy.
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