President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on Monday suspending all US foreign assistance programs for 90 days while his staff reviews whether they are aligned with his policy goals.
According to the EO, the "foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values," and "serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries."
Trump also declared that "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."
It's unclear how much assistance will initially be affected by the Monday order, as funding for many programs has already been appropriated by congress and is obligated to be spent, AP reports.
Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that "very dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?"
Monday's EO leaves those decisions up to Rubio, or a Rubio designee, in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget - with the State Department and the US Agency for International Development being the primary agencies which oversee such foreign assistance.
Trump has long railed against foreign aid despite the fact that such assistance typically amounts to roughly 1% of the federal budget, except under unusual circumstances such as the billions in weaponry provided to Ukraine. Trump has been critical of the amount shipped to Ukraine to help bolster its defenses against Russia’s invasion.
The last official accounting of foreign aid in the Biden administration dates from mid-December and budget year 2023. It shows that $68 billion had been obligated for programs abroad that range from disaster relief to health and pro-democracy initiatives in 204 countries and regions. -AP
Of course, Egypt ($1.5 billion / year + 1 US Congressman), Israel ($3.3 billion / year and most of Congress), and Jordan ($1.7 billion / year) are unlikely to see much of a reduction, as those amounts have been included in long-term packages, and are in some cases governed by treaty obligations.
During Trump's first term, he moved to reduce foreign aid spending - suspending payments to certain UN agencies, including the UN Population Fund, as well as funding to the Palestinian Authority. Trump also pulled out of the UN Human Rights Council, along with its financial obligations, while the Biden administration pulled funding from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
