WASHINGTON-A Trump administration order pausing almost all foreign aid has left counterterrorism training in Somalia, HIV treatment in Uganda, narcotics interdiction in Colombia, prosthetics for refugees from Myanmar, and many more U.S.-funded overseas assistance programs in sudden limbo.
The Friday directive stated that the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development "shall not provide foreign assistance" until a high-level review of the programs is completed, except to Israel and Egypt and in severe cases where emergency food assistance is needed.
USAID acting Administrator Jason Gray put dozens of agency officials on administrative leave Monday, saying they were suspected of seeking to "circumvent" Trump's orders.
One agency staffer said 57 officials were put on leave.
"We have identified several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the President's Executive Orders," Gray said in a message to the agency reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Rather than just pausing new funding, the cable instructed U.S. government officials to issue so-called "stopwork" orders to non-governmental organizations and aid groups from using U.S. funding they have already received.
This story is from the January 28, 2025 edition of The Wall Street Journal.
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This story is from the January 28, 2025 edition of The Wall Street Journal.
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