2025-01-21t143046z-623930724-rc2decai9iuy-rtrmadp-3-usa-trump.JPG
US freezes nearly all foreign aid
By Jennifer Hansler, CNN
Marco Rubio speaks after being sworn in as Secretary of State by US Vice President JD Vance at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC.
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The US State Department has frozen nearly all foreign aid worldwide, days after President Donald Trump issued an extended executive order on Monday to suspend such aid for 90 days.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a cable, seen by CNN, to all US diplomatic posts on Friday outlining the measure, which threatens billions of dollars in funding for the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for programs around the world.
Foreign aid has been the target of ire from Republicans in Congress and Trump administration officials, but such funding represents a very small portion of the overall U.S. budget. The scope of the executive order and the cable that followed have left aid officials shocked. The cable calls for immediate "ceasefire" orders on existing foreign aid and a suspension of all new aid. Next month, the cable said, the administration will develop standards to monitor whether the aid is "consistent with President Trump's foreign policy agenda."
"Decisions to continue, modify or terminate programs will be made following this review," the cable said, noting that such a review must be completed within 85 days.
The State Department order calls for a halt to emergency food aid, as well as foreign military funding for Israel and Egypt. The cable did not specifically mention other countries that receive foreign military funding, such as Ukraine or Taiwan.
One aid official said the pause was deeply concerning and said the details in the cables were "just as bad."
Another official told CNN that while they expected reductions or changes in aid in specific areas, they did not expect such a drastic and immediate pause. They said humanitarian needs around the world are acute and a freeze on aid from the United States - the world's largest humanitarian donor - could be harmful. In his executive order, Trump said that "the foreign aid industry and the American bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and, in many cases, contrary to American values."
However, one of the officials noted that aid programs, such as those related to global health, that are targeted for freezing are in the interest of the United States and have bipartisan support.
"It is in our interest to ensure that there is no pandemic. "Global stability is in our interest," they said.
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