The United States has initiated deep cuts to its foreign development and aid programmes under the United States Agency for International Development, reducing multi-year contracts by 92 percent—amounting to a $54 billion slash in funding.
With this decision, approximately 5,800 foreign aid contracts have been eliminated as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks to save up to $60 billion from development and humanitarian assistance.
Upon assuming office, Trump signed an executive order imposing a 90-day freeze on all US foreign aid to allow his administration time to review overseas spending and eliminate programmes that do not align with his “America First” agenda.
A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the administration must unfreeze all aid within two days after a prior court order, issued nearly two weeks earlier, was ignored. However, the Trump administration responded by filing an emergency petition with the US Supreme Court, which issued an administrative stay late Wednesday, temporarily pausing the lower court’s order.
“At the conclusion of a process led by USAID leadership, including tranches personally reviewed by Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, nearly 5,800 awards with $54 billion in value remaining were identified for elimination as part of the America First agenda, a 92 percent reduction,” the US State Department said in a statement.
The review focused on multi-year foreign assistance contracts awarded by USAID, with the vast majority being eliminated. Additionally, the administration assessed over 9,100 grants valued at more than $15.9 billion. As a result, 4,100 grants worth nearly $4.4 billion were also targeted for elimination, marking a 28 percent reduction.
“These commonsense eliminations will allow the bureaus, along with their contracting and grants officers, to focus on remaining programs, find additional efficiencies and tailor subsequent programs more closely to the administration’s America First priorities,” the State Department statement said.
USAID provides humanitarian aid worldwide, with health and emergency programmes in about 120 countries.
According to a State Department spokesperson, programmes that remained untouched include food assistance, life-saving medical treatments for diseases such as HIV and malaria, and support for countries including Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, and Lebanon.
