Tag: foreign aid

How Trump’s Dismantling Of USAID Marks A Seismic, Historic Shift In America’s Role In The World

The most consequential decision and executive order which came within the opening days of President Donald Trump’s administration has without doubt been his “reevaluating and realigning US foreign aid” — which sent shockwaves through Washington especially given federal funding has been cut to USAID in a shock blow to the agency. But it is also having a massive ripple effect throughout the world. Some foreign powers will welcome the news, while many allies as well as an assortment of US-backed ‘opposition groups’ will feel completely abandoned.

This has meant that pro-Western media outlets, NGOs, and ‘soft power’ organizations are in panic mode. This has basically overnight shutdown a multi-billion dollar regime change apparatus which pushed or often imposed American interests throughout the globe, especially in the very vulnerable Third World, as well as former Soviet satellite regions. The way this works on a practical, on the ground level is detailed in the well-known book Confessions Of An Economic Hit Man. As for Trump’s apparent efforts to dismantle the powerful USAID agency, we compiled some of the best current analysis from around the web outlining the huge significance of this move, which is nothing less than a historic reset (and we say a very welcome reset) of Washington’s relations with the rest of the world.

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Sweden leads the offensive in the EU to curb financial support for the Cuban Regime.

The Swedish Government’s has taken the decision to review the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with the Cuban regime and cut funding to Havana.

The Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) between the European Union (EU) and Cuba was signed in 2016 and aimed to normalize and strengthen diplomatic and economic relations between the two parties. Its main objectives were to promote dialogue on political issues, human rights, and economic development while enhancing cooperation in areas like trade, investment, sustainable development, and governance.

However, Sweden insists that it is not a good idea to have European funds diverted to support a regime that tramples on human rights.

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Sen. Banks Asks Secretary of State Rubio to Investigate Reports Biden Administration Tried to Force Radical Abortion on Foreign Country In Exchange for Aid

Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) has asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to investigate reports that the Biden administration tried to pressure a foreign nation into adopting radical pro-abortion legislation in exchange for aid.

A December 2024 report from The Daily Signal showed that the Biden administration was pressuring Sierra Leone to pass a pro-abortion bill, deceptively named the ‘Safe Motherhood Act,’ in order to receive aid for affordable electricity through the  Sierra Leone Compact.

The so-called Safe Motherhood Act would legalize abortion up to 14 weeks for any reason and up to birth to protect the “mental health of the woman.” Abortion to save a woman’s life is already legal in Sierra Leone.

Per The Daily Signal:

The letter cites The Daily Signal’s Dec. 16 report that the Biden administration was pressuring Sierra Leone to pass an unpopular pro-abortion bill before Donald Trump took office.

It is common knowledge among nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, in Sierra Leone that a U.S. foreign aid agency called the Millennium Challenge Corporation is threatening to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars from a U.S. agreement with Sierra Leone unless the West African country’s parliament passes the bill decriminalizing abortion, a former senior U.S. government official who has worked in the West African region told The Daily Signal. Millennium Challenge Corporation denies this.

In his letter to Secretary Rubio, Banks requested Rubio look into the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

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End the Aid Charade

Areevaluation of foreign assistance programs and an America First policy directive to Secretary of State Marco Rubio were among the 46 executive orders President Trump put his Sharpie to on Inauguration Day.


Section 2 of the ”America First Policy Directive to Secretary Rubio” states,

As soon as practicable, the Secretary of State shall issue guidance bringing the Department of State’s policies, programs, personnel, and operations in line with an America First foreign policy, which puts America and its interests first.

Trump’s order on foreign assistance mandates a now widely reported on “90-day pause” on foreign development assistance, during which time  a determination will be made by the director of the Office of Management and Budget (which by that time will likely be the eminently sensible Russ Vought) together with the responsible department heads as to whether or not the administration will “continue, modify, or cease” these assistance programs. At a White House briefing on Tuesday, spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the pause is “about being good stewards of tax dollars.”

Perhaps so.

Yet chaos has reigned in the days since the orders were signed thanks to the intercession of a Biden-appointed judge in US District Court in Washington, DC who put a hold on the order until February 3. Following that, the White House has compounded the confusion by issuing and then rescinding a memo from OMB relating to the freeze. Leavitt, however, insists that the EOs on federal funding will “remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.” 

Got that?

Well, if the rollout has been less than stellar, the larger point the administration is making is unmistakable. These orders are also in line with a number of bills that have been introduced by congressional Republicans in recent years. This past October, Florida’s Republican Rep. Greg Steube introduced the Securing Taxpayer Assistance during Natural Disasters (STAND) Act, which would suspend US foreign assistance during the first 60 days of a Presidentially declared disaster. Prior to that, in August 2023, five congressmen associated with the House Freedom Caucus introduced H.R.5108 which sought to abolish the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The authors of the bill accused USAID of meddling in “local elections, promoting the interests of ‘women, youth, and other traditionally marginalized groups’ ahead of the interests of the other nations’ citizenry” and called for the agency’s abolition. 

Washington being what it is, the bill went nowhere.

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Did a Trump executive order just cripple the global US regime change network?

With federal funding paused to USAID, pro-Western media outlets from Ukraine to Nicaragua are panhandling for donations, and a multi-billion dollar regime change apparatus is in panic mode.

Among the flurry of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump in the first days of his administration, perhaps the most consequential to date is one titled, “reevaluating and realigning US foreign aid.”

Under this order, a 90-day pause was instantly enforced on all US foreign development assistance across the globe – excepting, of course, the largest recipients of US aid in Israel and Egypt. For now, the order forbids the disbursement of federal funding for any “non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and contractors” charged with delivering US “aid” programs overseas.

Within days, hundreds of “internal contractors” at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) were placed on unpaid leave or outright fired, as a direct result of the Executive Order. Washington Post contributor John Hudson has reported organization officials brand Trump’s directives on “foreign development assistance” a “shock and awe approach,” which has left them reeling, uncertain of their futures. One nameless USAID apparatchik told him, “they even removed all the pictures in our offices of aid programs,” as accompanying photographs attested.

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Did Trump Halt Aid to Ukraine?

Yesterday, there were a number of “headlines” in the US media claiming all foreign aid was stopped—except for Israel and Egypt. But the Pentagon weighed in today denying that it affects Ukraine:

“A Pentagon official confirmed that Trump’s executive order freezing foreign aid applies only to development programs, not security assistance to Ukraine.” -VOA

When I spoke with Judge Napolitano and Nima today, I had not seen these reports. However, while Trump’s order does not curtail security assistance (i.e., weapons, vehicles and ammunition) already in the pipeline, it does freeze the assistance funds that flow through State Department channels:

The Trump administration has reportedly frozen USAID projects as part of its foreign assistance audit

The Trump administration has frozen projects in Ukraine that were funded through the US Agency for International Development, Reuter reported on Friday, citing a USAID official.

The official told the news agency that USAID officers responsible for projects in Ukraine were told to stop all work. The projects that were frozen reportedly include support for schools and healthcare, including maternal care and the vaccination of children.

So part of the Ukrainian grift machine is shut down for the next three months. That is a start in the right direction.

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Trump Halts Ukraine Aid As State Dept “Totally Went Nuclear” On Foreign Assistance

The Trump State Department on Friday halted spending on almost all foreign aid grants for 90 days, which also appears to apply to funding for military assistance to Ukraine, Politico reports.

The guidance, issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was sent to all diplomatic and consular posts, and orders all department staffers to issue “stop-work orders” on nearly all “existing foreign assistance awards.”

It appears to go further than President Donald Trump’s recent executive order, which instructed the department to pause foreign aid grants for 90 days pending review by the secretary. It had not been clear from the president’s order if it would affect already appropriated funds or Ukraine aid.

The new guidance means no further actions will be taken to disperse aid funding to programs already approved by the U.S. government, according to three current and two former officials familiar with the new guidance. -Politico

Rubio also outlined the Trump administration’s stance on spending, saying “Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions,” Rubio wrote. The questions: Does the action make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous?

The new order reportedly shocked State Department officials.

“State just totally went nuclear on foreign assistance,” a State Department official told Politico.

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Trump to announce huge foreign aid crackdown to protect US interests in Day One executive order

Donald Trump will sign an executive order Monday halting all new foreign aid unless it fits with U.S. strategic goals, according to two incoming senior White House officials.

The aim is to prevent American taxpayers’ cash falling into the hands of groups working against the U.S. or promoting ‘diversity, equity, inclusion’ agendas, for example.

And it will likely immediately halt new U.S. money going to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). 

It is the agency that distributes aid in Gaza but it has repeatedly been accused of close ties to the terror group Hamas. The UN admitted that nine of its staff may been involved in the  Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

‘The United States and American citizens have been some of the most generous people in the entire world,’ an incoming White House policy adviser told DailyMail.com. 

‘But at this point, we have to understand that foreign policy is domestic policy, and if this is not aligned with our interests, then Uncle Sam should not be opening up his pocketbook any longer.’

The executive order comes among the first to be signed by Trump after being sworn into office for a second term.

It signals his desire to bring foreign aid spending into line with his America First policy agenda and to sync it with the work of the State Department.

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Vital LA Firefighting Equipment Was Handed To Ukraine, Reports Show, As Americans Now Caught In Raging Inferno

As of Wednesday afternoon the fast-moving, wind-driven fires sweeping through the Los Angeles areaare still zero percent contained, resulting in ongoing evacuations for 50,000+ residents.

Hundreds of thousands of residential and commercial locations have been left without power in the LA area as the natural disaster has become so large in proportion that it has captured the nation’s attention. Many have been naturally focused on ‘thoughts and prayers’ for heroic LA and California firefighters, and their hoped-for ability to push back the raging inferno. But several local headlines from prior years make clear that area firefighters could have had more resources to draw from, if significant emergency response supplies and items weren’t sent to Zelensky…

“Los Angeles County fire crews are sending some of their extra equipment to firefighters in Ukraine,” a local March 2022 story reads. “The plane carrying that much-needed surplus equipment, such as hoses, nozzles, turnouts, helmets, body armor and other personal protective gear, is expected to take off Friday.”

This began in the opening months of the Russian invasion, and appears to have continued at various times over the last couple years, with large expensive items like firetrucks having been shipped oversees as well.

Putting America “Ukraine first” is the Biden bad foreign policy idea that keeps on giving… and taking away from American citizens caught in the throes of emergency and disaster

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US Eases Restrictions For Syria In ‘Signal Of Goodwill’ To New Islamist Rulers

The US is planning to announce an easing of restrictions on providing humanitarian aid and other basic services such as electricity to Syria while still keeping crushing economic sanctions on the country in place, Reuters reported on Monday.

Reuters noted the “decision by the outgoing Biden administration will send a signal of goodwill to Syria’s new Islamist rulers and aims to pave the way for improving tough living conditions in the war-ravaged country while treading cautiously and keeping US leverage in place.”

Syria’s new government, led by extremist militants from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is calling for the lifting of the US sanctions, which impoverished Syria and prevented reconstruction after the end of the Syria war in 2019.

Washington is so far refusing to lift sanctions, despite its longtime support for HTS and its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (also known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani), a former deputy to slain ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Previously known as the Nusra Front, HTS was the official Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. The group enjoyed support from the US, Israel, Qatar, and Turkiye, which sought to use the group to topple the Syrian government led by former president Bashar al-Assad starting in 2011.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration approved the easing of restrictions over the weekend, saying the move authorizes the Treasury Department to issue waivers to aid groups and companies providing essentials such as water, electricity, and other humanitarian supplies.

The US-funded Syrian opposition group, the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), and other Syrian activists lobbied heavily for the US to impose the sanctions, claiming they would only hurt Assad and other top Syrian officials, not Syrian civilians.

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