Going Down with the Ship

"On January 20, 2025, U.S. Executive Order 14169, Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid paused all U.S. foreign development assistance programs for 90 days. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expanded this suspension to encompass nearly all USAID operations, triggering a cascade of destabilization for non-governmental organizations (NGOs). At the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the news prompted Lisa Oliveri, then director of Director of Global Risk Management, Security, and Operations, to shift priorities."

"As the "unsinkable" vessel sank, the eight hired musicians on the Titanic famously played on to calm the passengers. Although they had no obligation to do so - they were not part of the crew - the octet went down with the ship. Security leaders sometimes find themselves in a similar position, not in icy waters but within faltering organizations. Do they fulfill their duty as the vessel takes on water due to defunding, bankruptcy, liquidation, or political sabotage? Or do they leap into a lifeboat and let someone else secure the last deck?"

""In early February, when the funding was still frozen and the trajectory looked like significant reductions in force across the NGO sector, I began planning out certain contingencies," she explains. "I started thinking we were headed for a major drawdown.""

Security leaders face stark choices when organizations falter from defunding, bankruptcy, liquidation, or political sabotage. A maritime analogy compares eight Titanic musicians who played as the ship sank to security teams deciding whether to stay or evacuate. Three security executives report varied outcomes: one tried to repel Department of Government Efficiency "pirates" and was overrun; another escaped while the organization still listed; a third resisted mutiny and external attacks until collapse. U.S. Executive Order 14169 paused U.S. foreign development assistance for 90 days on January 20, 2025, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio expanded the suspension to most USAID operations, destabilizing NGOs. NDI’s Lisa Oliveri began contingency planning in early February as funding froze and layoffs loomed, while Colin O’Brien at USIP observed public references to reducing "government inefficiency" and specific mention of his agency in mid-February.

Read at Securitymagazine