The State Division has moved to squeeze lifesaving overseas support dramatically for international locations world wide, in accordance with a number of U.S. officers conversant in the matter.
The newest cuts embody the termination of all remaining U.S. Company for Worldwide Growth contracts supporting the supply of meals, water and medication to populations in Afghanistan and Yemen, the cancellation of the biggest World Meals Programme (WFP) contract for Somalia, and the termination of a number of awards that funded the supply of crucial help in Syria and Lebanon, three officers instructed ABC Information.
A USAID flag flutters outdoors, because the USAID constructing sits closed to staff after a memo was issued advising company personnel to work remotely, in Washington, D.C., February 3, 2025.
Kent Nishimura/Reuters
Jordan, Haiti, Gaza, Niger, Palau and Papua New Guinea, in addition to a number of different international locations and main support teams, additionally noticed important lifesaving support contracts terminated in current days, they added.
The newest spherical of cuts to assist totals over $1.3 billion, in accordance with OneAID, a grassroots advocacy group made up of former and present USAID consultants and companions.
It additionally marks an obvious reversal for the State Division, which beforehand granted exemptions for the funding to proceed after the Trump administration’s sweeping discount in U.S. overseas support prompted widespread backlash.
State Division spokeswoman Tammy Bruce confirmed throughout a press briefing on Tuesday that the US had eradicated many contracts.
Nevertheless, she argued nearly all of funding to the WFP had not been affected, saying, “To start with, 85% of beforehand present USAID packages with the World Meals Program worldwide stay lively and ongoing. So it’s inaccurate, as some have intimated, that USAID has defunded the World Meals Program … or that we have broadly backed away from our commitments to offering lifesaving meals support.”
She did notice that some WFP packages had been terminated “based mostly on particular nation or program-level priorities.”
“The biggest group of World Meals Programme awards terminated had been in Yemen and Afghanistan via an govt order that was issued based mostly on concern that the funding was benefiting terrorist teams, together with the Houthis and the Taliban,” she stated. “Different awards had been terminated as a result of they supplied cash-based help, which the administration is shifting away from, given considerations about misuse and lack of applicable accountability for American taxpayers right here at residence.”
The WFP confirmed on Monday that the U.S. authorities had knowledgeable the group that funding for emergency meals help in 14 international locations had been terminated.
“If carried out, this might quantity to a loss of life sentence for thousands and thousands of individuals dealing with excessive starvation and hunger,” the WFP stated in an announcement. “We’re involved with the US administration to hunt clarification and to induce for continued help for these life-saving programmes.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with reporters on his aircraft whereas flying from Suriname en path to Miami, Mar. 27, 2025.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
ABC Information reached out to the State Division for touch upon the cuts however didn’t obtain a response.
It is unclear what motivated the newest spherical of funding cancellations, however one official stated they had been ordered by Jeremy Lewin, the USAID deputy administrator for coverage who beforehand labored with Elon Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity to dismantle the company.
The official additionally stated lots of the packages hit by the newest cuts had been lately granted hiring privileges or had spending modifications to their contracts accepted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
These particular permissions had been seen as a sign that State Division management seen the work as important for fulfilling its mission of delivering “core life-saving medication, medical providers, meals, shelter, and subsistence help” amid the Trump administration’s assessment of all overseas support spending.
Bruce added in her press briefing that some awards had been inadvertently eradicated however that that they had since been restored, although she declined to offer any particulars.
“There have been a couple of packages that had been lower in different international locations that weren’t meant to be lower, which were rolled again and put into place,” Bruce stated.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio seems to be on as U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (not pictured) within the Oval Workplace on the White Home in Washington, April 7, 2025.
Kevin Mohatt/Reuters
Shortly after returning to the White Home in January, President Donald Trump ordered all a freeze on all overseas help for 90 days, resulting in a flurry of stop-work orders and hiring freezes affecting a broad vary of humanitarian support work.
Since then, the Trump administration has moved to cancel some $60 billion price of overseas support grants and contracts, however senior officers like Rubio have promised that probably the most important help would proceed.
“This isn’t about eliminating support. That is about restructuring how we’ll do support,” Rubio stated final month.
