President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his inauguration day, 20 January, temporarily suspending all US foreign assistance programs for 90 days pending policy alignment reviews, AP says. According to AP, Trump declared, “no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States.“
Trump’s executive order says the US President has ordered a “90-day pause in United States foreign development assistance for assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy.”
During his confirmation hearing, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that aid programs must answer three questions:
“Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?”
The State Department and US Agency for International Development will oversee the review process. AP reports that as of mid-December 2023, $68 billion had been obligated for various programs across 204 countries and regions.
Major treaty-based recipients including Israel ($3.3 billion annually), Egypt ($1.5 billion annually), and Jordan ($1.7 billion annually) are expected to maintain their funding levels.
The first Trump administration previously reduced foreign aid spending, including suspending payments to various UN agencies and Palestinian Authority funding. The US withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council during Trump’s first term and was barred from funding UNRWA by legislation signed in March 2024.
Update:
Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, clarified that the 90-day suspension of international aid signed by US President Trump does not apply to military assistance for Ukraine.
The Ukrainian publication Defense Express explains that US development assistance programs are a separate category focused on supporting the economic, social, and political development of states and societies. In US government terminology, military aid to Ukraine falls under “security assistance,” which, according to available information, does not appear to be affected by Trump’s order.
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