The US State Department has frozen almost all foreign aid worldwide, effective immediately, days after President Donald Trump issued a sweeping executive order on Monday to suspend such aid for 90 days.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a cable, seen by CNN, to all U.S. diplomatic posts on Friday outlining the move, which threatens billions of dollars in funding from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for programs around the world.
Foreign aid has been the target of criticism from Republicans in Congress and Trump administration officials, but these funds make up a very small percentage of the overall U.S. budget. The scale of the executive order and the telegram that followed have left humanitarian officials stunned.
The telegram calls for an immediate halt to work on existing foreign aid and suspends new aid. Over the next month, the telegram says, the administration will develop standards for a review of aid to see if it is “consistent with President Trump’s foreign policy agenda.”
"Decisions to continue, modify or discontinue programs will be made following this review," the telegram states, noting that this review must be completed within 85 days.
The State Department order excludes emergency food aid and foreign military funding for Israel and Egypt. The telegram does not specifically mention other countries that receive military funding, such as Ukraine or Taiwan.
A humanitarian official said the suspension is extremely devastating and stressed that the telegram's specifications are "as bad as it can be."
Another official told CNN that while they expected there to be cuts or changes to aid for specific areas, they did not expect such a broad and immediate suspension. They said humanitarian needs around the world are acute and a freeze on aid from the US — the world's largest humanitarian donor — could be devastating.
In his executive order, Trump claimed that "the U.S. foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with interests."
However, one of the officials noted that aid programs, such as those related to global health, which have been affected by the freeze, are in the US interest and have had bipartisan support. “Making sure there is no pandemic is in our interest. Global stability is in our interest,” they said. (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
