The near-total freeze on foreign aid from the United States has many vocal detractors, but it also has passionate backers
—and nowhere more so than in Hungary,
where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s self-styled “illiberal democracy” has made him a darling of the global far right
and an ally of President Donald Trump.
Hungary recently escalated its efforts to stamp out pro-democracy groups and media organizations that rely on foreign funding
by naming a government minister to investigate USAID’s activities.
Today, that minister, #András #László, was received in Washington by #Peter #Marocco, the top American official disassembling the agency from the inside.
The meeting, which was confirmed by a U.S. official and another person familiar with the gathering,
reflects the convergence of interests between Budapest and Washington.
Like the Trump administration, the Hungarian government has giddily embraced the idea that U.S. aid programs are not only wasteful and unnecessary but also criminal.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/hungary-joins-doge-effort/681923/