Newly confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio hit the ground running, initiating President Trump's 'America First' agenda by announcing a 90-day pause on almost all US foreign aid spending.
The 90-day halt to spending will allow Rubio and the Stae Department to review all foreign aid programs as instructed by an executive order signed by President Trump on Monday.
On Friday, the State Department announced a freeze on new funding for almost all U.S. foreign assistance programs, with exceptions for humanitarian food initiatives and military aid to Israel and Egypt.
This sweeping directive aims to quickly halt myriad global projects that support health, education, development, and job training, marking the start of President Donald Trump's promised elimination of aid programs he deems not in U.S. interests.
Program reviews are intended to assure that US dollars are being spent effectively and in accordance with US foreign policy as set by the Trump Administration. The United States is the world leader in foreign aid, spending $60 billion in 2023.
Trump's EO includes a waiver that allows the Secretary of State to waive the pause in spending for specific programs, such as emergency food aid.
Marco Rubio will report the findings of his department's review to the President.
Within the next month, standards will be set to review all foreign assistance, aligning it with President Trump's policy agenda. The comprehensive government-wide review is expected to be completed within three months, culminating in a report. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will use this report to make recommendations to the president.
News of the spending freeze has been well-received by many Americans, especially in disaster areas like western North Carolina, which, just a few months ago, was told by the Biden Administration that FEMA had no money for them while they continued to send billions overseas.
Then-candidate Trump promised to fix that when he was on the campaign trail. This is a first step in keeping that promise.
It's sad that we've reached the point where spending American tax dollars on Americans first seems like a foreign idea.
It's unlikely the spending freeze will be permanent. Some programs may be cut, others reduced in funding, or require other countries that can afford to do so to pay more to keep some programs funded.
Whatever the outcome, America last ended on January 20th.
It hasn't even been a week, and the changes being made to the federal government are palpable. There will be plenty of challenges to overcome in the next four years, but one thing has been abundantly clear since Donald Trump took office just a few short days ago.
America is back.