US diplomats have been instructed to "unabashedly and aggressively" remind African governments of American generosity, according to a leaked email from the new head of the State Department's Bureau of African Affairs. The email, obtained by the Guardian, comes amid the closure of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and has been labelled "racist" by former officials.
The email was sent by Nick Checker, a former CIA conflict analyst who took over the bureau this month. His appointment coincides with the Trump administration's new national security strategy, which prioritises far-right interests in Europe and adopts a transactional view of Africa, calling for a shift from aid to trade and investment.
Checker's email describes Africa as "a peripheral – rather than a core – theatre for US interests that demands strategic economy". It says framing Africa as strategic has served "bureaucratic and moral imperatives, not hard interests". The email identifies opportunities for engagement including conflict resolution in the DRC and Sudan, and investments in critical minerals and energy.
A former senior US state department official with two decades of experience in Africa described the email as "offensive and downright racist", and said its suggestions undermine US national security interests. A West African diplomat noted that while US aid has alleviated suffering, the abrupt reduction in assistance makes it inappropriate to continue highlighting American generosity.
Separately, USAID – gutted last year by Elon Musk's efficiency drive – has circulated a tender for a contract to shut down the agency, offering an unspecified amount and barring bidders with prior USAID experience. The closure, which may extend until March 2028, has been widely criticised as illegal since the agency was created by Congress and dismantled without its approval.
