WASHINGTON —
The State Department ordered a sweeping freeze Friday on new funding for almost all U.S. foreign assistance, making exceptions for emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt.
The order threatened a quick halt to many of the billions of dollars in U.S.-funded projects globally to support health, education, development, job training, anti-corruption, security assistance and other efforts.
The U.S. provides more foreign aid globally than any other country, budgeting about $60 billion in 2023, or about 1% of the U.S. budget.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s order, delivered in a cable sent to U.S. embassies worldwide, specifically exempted emergency food programs, such as those helping to feed millions in a widening famine in warring Sudan.
The cable spells out the execution of the aid-freezing executive order President Donald Trump signed on Monday.
But Friday’s order especially disappointed humanitarian officials by not including specific exemptions for lifesaving health programs, such as clinics and immunization programs.
A globally acclaimed anti-HIV program, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, was among those apparently 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.
Some aid projects began receiving their first stop-work orders under the freeze Friday afternoon.
Some leading aid organizations also were interpreting the directive as an immediate stop-work order for U.S.-funded aid work globally, a former senior U.S. 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.
Suspending funding “could have life or death consequences” for children and families around the world, said Abby Maxman, head of Oxfam America.
“By suspending foreign development assistance, the Trump administration is threatening the lives and futures of communities in crisis, and abandoning the United States’ long-held bipartisan approach to foreign assistance which supports people based on need, regardless of politics,” Maxman said in a statement.
At the United Nations, deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said: “These are bilateral decisions but nonetheless we expect those nations who have the capability to generously fund development assistance.”
While Rubio’s order exempted military assistance to allies Israel and Egypt from the freeze, there was no indication of a similar waiver to allow vital U.S. military assistance to Ukraine through.
The 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 to spend it.
The sweeping freeze begins enforcement of a pledge from Trump and other Republicans to crack down on U.S. aid programs. Florida Republican Representative Brian Mast, the new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, promised this week that Republicans would question “every dollar and every diplomat” in the State Department’s budget to ensure it met their standards for strict necessity.
The freeze is necessary to ensure that “appropriations are not duplicated, are effective and are consistent with President Trump’s foreign policy,” the global cable stated.
Within the next month, standards for a review of all foreign assistance are expected to be set to ensure that it is “aligned with President Trump’s foreign policy agenda,” 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.
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