US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered an immediate halt to all foreign aid programmes pending a review to ensure that they align with President Donald Trump’s policies, The Financial Times reports, based on an internal communication seen by the business newspaper.
The review period is estimated to last 85 to 90 days, affecting contracts worth billions of dollars managed by Washington, including those that go through the US Agency for International Development, USAID.
According to The Financial Times, Rubio has also mandated that all foreign aid payments by any agency or department must receive his approval.
Additionally, US government agencies are instructed to cease publishing new proposals for foreign aid projects.
There are some exceptions, the report states, such as “approved waivers” for military funding to Israel and Egypt, and for foreign food-emergency aid.
This move implements an executive order signed by President Trump on the first day of his second term, criticising the “foreign aid industry and bureaucracy” as “misaligned” with US interests and often contrary to US values, and calling for a suspension of aid.
“President Trump has given me a clear direction to place our core national interest as the guiding mission of American foreign policy,” Rubio said earlier this week.
“Every dollar we spend, every programme 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?” he said in a statement.
