The State Department issued guidance stopping foreign aid grant spending for 90 days, multiple outlets reported Friday, after President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday that sought to realign foreign spending with American interests.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, flanked by as his wife Jeanette Rubio, is sworn by Vice President JD ... [+]
The order from the State Department bans any new government spending on foreign aid projects, seemingly allowing existing programs to run only with the money they have on hand, the Associated Press reported, after obtaining cables sent from State to foreign embassies.
There was confusion on what the order meant, though, with some organizations seeing it as a stop-work order, according to the AP.
Politico reported it “appears to apply to funding for military assistance to Ukraine,” and Reuters reported the directive only included a waiver for aid to Israel and Egypt.
The executive order signed by Trump on Monday stated U.S. foreign aid and bureaucracy are not “aligned with American interests and in many cases [are] antithetical to American values.”
The directive seems to go beyond the requirements of Trump’s executive order, which called for a 90-day pause in U.S. foreign development assistance so efficiencies can be assessed and programs can be reviewed.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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State Department freezes new funding for nearly all US aid programs worldwide (Associated Press)
State Department issues immediate, widespread pause on foreign aid (Politico)