Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, has delivered a directive to all U.S. diplomatic and consular posts ordering them to halt “all new obligations of funding, pending a review, for foreign assistance programs funded by or through the Department and USAID.”
The message was consistent with the executive order that President Trump signed on Monday, which called for a reassessment of foreign aid provided by the United States.
According to the order, “it is currently impossible to access sufficient information in one place to determine whether the foreign assistance policies and interests supported by appropriations are not duplicated, are effective, and are consistent with President Trump’s foreign policy” across the U.S. government.
Rubio’s directive continued by saying that the State Department “needs a centralized repository from which senior Department, USAID officials, Ambassadors, missions and others can draw sufficiently detailed information from which the Secretary can make judgments.” It also stated, “More information will be provided soon regarding a new or updated repository and the required bureau submissions to it.”
Rubio’s order states that there is an 85-day deadline for a “government-wide comprehensive review of all foreign assistance” to be completed.
It also states that “a report shall be produced to the Secretary of State for his consideration and recommendation to the President.”
The order also seems to have an effect on current aid programs.
It states, “For existing foreign assistance awards, contracting officers and grant officers shall immediately issue stop-work orders, consistent with the terms of the relevant award, until such time as the Secretary shall determine, following a review.”
Rubio, on the other hand, stated that the order does not apply to U.S. foreign military financing for Israel and Egypt, emergency food assistance, or “salaries and related administrative expenses, including travel, for U.S. direct hire employees, personal services contractors, and locally employed staff.”
This covers exceptions to the halt that were allowed by the Director of the Foreign Assistance Office at the State Department.
It has been stated that the Biden administration moved tens of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid that was initially earmarked for Egypt to Lebanon instead during its final days in office.
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This was done in order to support the Lebanese Armed Forces following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.
It is not immediately obvious how the directive will affect the United States’ foreign aid to Ukraine and other nations.
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