The Scoop
A pair of Democratic lawmakers are introducing a bill to protect the future of the White House’s advisory council on African Diaspora Engagement, with an eye on the potential return of Donald Trump to the Oval Office.
The African Diaspora Council Act is being introduced by California Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove with lead co-sponsor and fellow Californian Sara Jacobs, who is the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa. They said the bill would codify the year-old council and help prevent a future Trump presidency from dismantling or shifting resources away from African affairs or diaspora issues.
Kamlager-Dove, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said it matters who is in the White House: “I saw when Trump was in office that he essentially had a zero Africa policy.” She said the US lost ground during the previous Trump years. “I think [the Biden] administration has been working really hard to play catch up, and we have seen an expanded influence from other countries.”
If passed, the act will ensure that the incoming administration does not consider political affiliation when appointing members to the council. It will also mandate that the Secretary of State consult with foreign relations committees on Capitol Hill while selecting representatives for its council. The bill, among other things, also stipulates that the Secretary of State will be the primary channel for advising the president, thereby moving responsibility away from the White House.
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Vice President Kamala Harris announced the establishment of the diaspora council at the US Leaders Africa Summit in December 2022. It was finally set up under executive order by President Joe Biden in September 2023. Its primary responsibilities include enhancing cultural, political and economic connections among African and African American communities, the United States and the global African diaspora.
Twelve members make up the council and they each have two-year terms. Nigerian-American WNBA player Chinenye Ogwumike and Patrick Gaspard, the former US Ambassador to South Africa, serve on the council. In addition to the council, there is still some uncertainty among the African diaspora in the United States and US-Africa policy watchers regarding its precise role or impact.
Kamlager-Dove’s bill would require the council to meet four times a year “or more frequently as necessary.” The current council, whose term ends next year, is run by Deniece Laurent-Mantey, a US State Department official who was appointed by President Biden.
Eden’s view
The African Diaspora Council has garnered a lot of goodwill within diaspora communities and longtime US-Africa policy watchers. But after just one full year, it has yet to firmly establish itself in the wide array of US foreign policy efforts, as we’ve reported previously. The problem is not about the council members or the management but rather about the timing and unusual circumstances US politics is going through right now.
Back in more normal times, US-Africa policy has often been a fairly bipartisan affair — and to a reasonable extent it still is. But there are real existential concerns among Democrats about how things might change if Trump wins the White House again. The survival odds of an Africa-focused council seems pretty low if he does.
But Kamlager-Dove wants Capitol Hill and others to see the bigger picture given the growing importance of Africa and Africans in the future of the global economy and beyond, in other words like China does.
“There are a lot of missed opportunities and low-hanging fruit, and having this kind of council can elevate those issues,” she said. “Entertainment, healthcare, athletics, tech and science will really allow us to figure out ways to be more competitive when it comes to beating back China, but also developing deeper, more authentic relationships with countries on the continent.”
Room for Disagreement
Despite a widely held view that former President Trump was mostly disparaging of African affairs, his administration was responsible for the launch of key Africa-focused initiatives which have been maintained by the Biden White House. In December 2018 Trump launched Prosper Africa to open markets for US businesses, grow Africa’s middle class and enable competition with China and other nations with business interests in Africa.
The Trump administration also created the US International Development Finance Corp (DFC) with a budget of $60 billion, double its predecessor. Africa remains DFC’s largest regional portfolio, accounting for more than a quarter of the $12 billion it invested in 180 projects around the world in 2023.
In both cases, the Trump administration was not subtle about the need to rival China in Africa. That rhetoric changed with Biden but the approach wasn’t really changed.