Georgian dream cites Samantha Power remarks in renewed criticism of U.S. aid

Georgia’s ruling party is pointing to recent remarks by former USAID Administrator Samantha Power as evidence that U.S. aid programs are used to influence political regimes abroad. The comments, made during a prank interview, have fueled debate in Tbilisi over sovereignty, NGOs, and foreign funding.

Georgian Dream lawmakers argue that Power’s acknowledgment of tens of millions of dollars spent in Moldova confirms their longstanding claims that U.S. assistance goes beyond development and into politics.

MP Davit Matikashvili said: “USAID invested millions in Ukraine and Moldova to bolster preferred governments and weaken those considered undesirable. This is exactly what we’ve been saying for years.”

Fellow ruling party member Levan Machavariani directly linked the remarks to Georgia’s ongoing investigations into non-governmental organizations. “Power confirmed that NGOs they funded worked to maintain governments serving the ‘Deep State’ and to remove those that did not. This makes the investigation into seven NGOs with frozen accounts even more relevant,” he said. Machavariani also criticized what he called the U.S. administration’s “silence” toward Georgia, despite the government’s alignment with Trump-era policies.

USAID, however, defines its mission differently — describing its work as supporting democracy, economic growth, and humanitarian needs, not regime change. In her Moldova comments, Power framed the funding as an effort to help reformers consolidate power against entrenched corruption.

The dispute underscores Georgia’s delicate relationship with Washington. The government insists it is protecting sovereignty from foreign interference, while critics warn that targeting NGOs risks shrinking the country’s democratic space.

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