WASHINGTON: The State Department ordered a sweeping freeze Friday on new funding for almost all US foreign assistance, making exceptions for emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt.
\nThe order threatened a quick halt to many of the billions of dollars in US-funded projects globally to support health, education, development, job training, anti-corruption, security assistance and other efforts.
\nThe US provides more foreign aid globally than any other country, budgeting about $60 billion in 2023, or about 1 percent of the US budget.
\nSecretary of State Marco Rubio\u2019s order, delivered in a cable sent to US embassies worldwide, specifically exempted emergency food programs, such as those helping to feed millions in a widening famine in warring Sudan.
\nThe cable spells out the execution of the aid-freezing executive order President Donald Trump signed on Monday.
\nBut Friday\u2019s order especially disappointed humanitarian officials by not including specific exemptions for life-saving health programs, such as clinics and immunization programs.
\nA globally acclaimed anti-HIV program, the President\u2019s Emergency Relief Plan for AIDS Relief, was among those included in the spending freeze, slated to last at least three months. Known as PEPFAR, the program is credited with saving 25 million lives, including those of 5.5 million children, since it was started by Republican President George W. Bush.
\nSome aid projects began receiving their first stop-work orders under the freeze Friday afternoon.
\nSome leading aid organizations also were interpreting the directive as an immediate stop-work order for US-funded aid work globally, a former senior US Agency for International Development official said. Many would likely cease operations immediately so as not to incur more costs, the official said. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
\nSuspending funding \u201ccould have life or death consequences\u201d for children and families around the world, said Abby Maxman, head of Oxfam America.
\n\u201cBy suspending foreign development assistance, the Trump administration is threatening the lives and futures of communities in crisis, and abandoning the United States\u2019 long-held bipartisan approach to foreign assistance which supports people based on need, regardless of politics,\u201d Maxman said in a statement.
\nAt the United Nations, deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said: \u201cThese are bilateral decisions but nonetheless we expect those nations who have the capability to generously fund development assistance.\u201d
\nWhile Rubio\u2019s order exempted military assistance to allies Israel and Egypt from the freeze, there was no indication of a similar waiver to allow vital US military assistance to Ukraine through.
\nThe Biden administration pushed military aid to Ukraine out the door before leaving office because of doubts about whether Trump would continue it. But there is still about $3.85 billion in congressionally authorized funding for any future arms shipments to Ukraine and it is now up to Trump to decide whether or not to spend it.
\nThe sweeping freeze begins enforcement of a pledge from Trump and other Republicans to crack down on US aid programs.
\nAlso on Friday, the State Department agency overseeing refugee and resettlement sent guidance to the resettlement agencies it works with, saying they had to immediately \u201csuspend all work\u201d under the foreign assistance they were receiving. While there was little clarity in the guidance, the notification suggests resettlement agencies that work with refugees, including Afghans who arrived on special immigrant visas, might have to halt their work at least temporarily.
\nFlorida Republican Rep. Brian Mast, the new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, promised this week that Republicans would question \u201cevery dollar and every diplomat\u201d in the State Department\u2019s budget to ensure it met their standards for strictly necessary.
\nThe freeze was necessary to ensure that \u201cappropriations are not duplicated, are effective, and are consistent with President Trump\u2019s foreign policy,\u201d the global cable stated.
\nWithin the next month, standards for a review of all foreign assistance are expected to be set to ensure that it is \u201caligned with President Trump\u2019s foreign policy agenda,\u201d the cable said. And within three months, the government-wide review is expected to be completed with a subsequent report to be produced for Rubio to make recommendations to the president.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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