veteran DOGE administrator reunites with Trump administration after departure
In a move aimed at bolstering the Trump administration's global health efforts, Brad Smith, a former top official at Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has returned to the White House. Smith, who previously led significant budget cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is now serving in the State Department, focusing specifically on global health.
Smith's background blends government efficiency expertise and health sector innovation. Before joining DOGE, he was the founder and CEO of a healthcare startup called Russell Street Ventures. During his tenure at DOGE, the department implemented sweeping cuts to the tune of around $67 billion.
In his new role, Smith leads and designs the department’s strategy on global health issues. He is credited with bringing creativity and thoughtfulness to reform an inefficient and wasteful system, aiming to deliver real value for the U.S. and its international partners. This role reflects a shift from his previous focus on domestic health budget cuts to a broader, international health policy leadership within the State Department.
Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions continue to simmer. Russian troops made a sudden breach in eastern Ukraine, in what analysts say is an attempt to pressure Kyiv into giving up land, days before crucial talks between Washington and Moscow. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict also remains unresolved, with Israeli forces continuing to pound Gaza, killing dozens in recent days. An Israeli strike on a hospital near Gaza City killed four Al Jazeera journalists, including one whom Israel had accused of being a Hamas fighter posing as a reporter.
Economic ties between the U.S. and China have stabilized for another 90 days, following President Trump's extension of a trade truce. However, the Trump administration's increasingly interventionist stance on US tech exports has drawn backlash. Chip giants Nvidia and AMD have agreed to pay the U.S. government 15% of their Chinese revenues, a move that has sparked controversy.
China, in response, has urged domestic companies to avoid buying Nvidia's H20 chips, claiming they are of poor quality and that they may pose security threats. A cholera outbreak in Sudan threatens the lives of tens of thousands of refugees, with more than 100,000 cases of the disease registered in the last year.
The BRICS group, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has expanded recently, adding more than a dozen nations in the last year. The group is strengthening its alliance in response to US tariff threats and is focused on people and development, not conflict.
In other news, the European Union's top diplomat has called for a snap meeting of European foreign ministers ahead of a planned meeting between the Russian and US presidents, insisting that any potential deal should have Ukraine and EU involvement. The sudden shuttering of USAID has led to a free-for-all in the illegal wildlife trade, with international crime groups piling into the trade.
Elsewhere, Edinburgh Fringe venues have canceled acts by two Jewish comedians, citing concerns related to the war in Gaza. Elon Musk, in a separate development, said he would take legal action against Apple and OpenAI after accusing the iPhone maker of favoring the AI firm over rivals, including his xAI. US inflation held steady in July at 2.7%, falling short of economists' expectations of a slight surge off the back of President Trump's new tariffs.
[1] Source: The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Guardian, and Reuters.
- Despite Smith's focus on global health in the State Department, ongoing war-and-conflicts, such as the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Russian incursion into eastern Ukraine, continue to demand attention in international politics.
- Amidst the general-news of economic tensions between the U.S. and China, disagreements about US tech exports, cholera outbreaks in Sudan, and the expansion of the BRICS group, the politics surrounding the European Union, US tariff threats, and illegal wildlife trade also dominate global headlines.
