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Trump’s move to suspend foreign aid programs causes confusion among US officials — WSJ

US officials responsible for administering foreign aid programs have literally flooded the State Department with requests for waivers, the report said

NEW YORK, January 28. /TASS/. US officials and humanitarian aid workers had their "jaws on the floor" in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze foreign aid programs, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

"Everyone in my world is walking around today with our hair on fire and our jaws on the floor," Jeremy Konyndyk, the president of Refugees International and a former senior USAID official in the Biden and Obama administrations, told the WSJ. According to the newspaper, the measure stunned US officials who fear that the three-month pause in some $60 billion worth of foreign-aid financing will "severely damage" critical programs overseas and even give China and other US rivals in the international arena an opportunity to "supplant" Washington as a reliable partner.

US officials responsible for administering foreign aid programs have literally flooded the State Department with requests for waivers, the WSJ continued. They warn that even a temporary pause could cost lives. Meanwhile, a State Department spokeswoman argued that the pause is needed so the US Agency for International Development (USAID) can ensure the foreign-assistance programs are efficient and support the new administration’s agenda, the newspaper added.

Among other programs, the latest move by the US federal government to suspend the aid appears to freeze funding for weapons supplies to Ukraine and Taiwan, according to the WSJ.

Earlier, Politico reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had halted spending on almost all foreign aid programs for 90 days. According to the newspaper, the document leaves "room for interpretation and does provide some exceptions." Military funding programs for Israel and Egypt will continue, but assistance to Ukraine, Jordan, and Taiwan will likely be suspended. Any decisions to continue, alter, or cease foreign aid funding programs will be made upon review by the top US diplomat. Reuters later reported that the USAID had put projects related to providing assistance to Ukraine on hold.

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