US issues pause on foreign aid, leaked memo says

The US State Department has issued a halt to each existing overseas assistance and paused caller aid, according to an interior memo sent to officials and US embassies abroad.

The leaked announcement follows President Trump's enforcement bid issued connected Monday for a 90-day intermission successful overseas improvement assistance pending a reappraisal of efficiencies and consistency with his overseas policy.

The United States is the world's biggest planetary assistance donor spending $68bn successful 2023 according to authorities figures. The State Department announcement appears to impact everything from improvement assistance to subject aid.

It makes exceptions lone for exigency nutrient assistance and for subject backing for Israel and Egypt. The leaked memo's contents person been confirmed by the BBC.

"No caller funds shall beryllium obligated for caller awards oregon extensions of existing awards until each projected caller grant oregon hold has been reviewed and approved," says the memo to staff.

It adds that US officials "shall instantly contented stop-work orders, accordant with the presumption of the applicable award, until specified clip arsenic the caput shall determine, pursuing a review."

It besides orders a wide standard reappraisal of each overseas assistance to beryllium completed wrong 85 days to guarantee the assistance adheres to President Trump's overseas argumentation goals.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio - the US's apical diplomat - has antecedently stated that each US spending overseas should instrumentality spot lone if it makes America "stronger", "safer" oregon "more prosperous".

One erstwhile elder State Department authoritative told the BBC the announcement meant a "potentially huge" interaction connected overseas assistance programmes funded by the US.

"One tin imagine, for example, the humanitarian de-mining programmes astir the satellite abruptly being told halt work. That's a beauteous large deal," said Josh Paul, who oversaw Congressional relations connected weapons transfers astatine the State Department until precocious 2023.

Dave Harden, a erstwhile US Agency of International Aid (USAID) ngo manager successful the Middle East, told the BBC the determination was "very significant", saying it could spot humanitarian and improvement programmes funded by the US astir the satellite being instantly suspended, portion the reappraisal is carried out.

He said it could impact a wide scope of captious improvement projects including water, sanitation and shelter.

"The employees of the implementing spouse oregon the [non-governmental organisation] would beryllium capable to beryllium paid, but existent assistance, I think, needs to beryllium halted," said Mr Harden.

"I person gone done [assistance suspensions] galore times erstwhile I was the West Bank and Gaza ngo director, but that was circumstantial to that account. This is global… it's highly broad," helium said.

"Not lone does it intermission assistance, but it puts a 'stop work' bid successful existing contracts that are already funded and underway. It's highly broad," helium added.

The AFP quality bureau reported the backing frost could besides perchance impact Ukraine, which received billions of dollars successful weapons nether Trump's predecessor Joe Biden.

Rubio's memo, justifying the freeze, said it was intolerable for the caller medication to measure whether existing overseas assistance commitments "are not duplicated, are effectual and are accordant with President Trump's overseas policy".

Rubio has issued a waiver for exigency nutrient assistance, according to the memo.

This comes amid a surge of humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip aft a ceasefire betwixt Israel and Hamas began, and respective different hunger crises astir the world, including Sudan.

The memo besides said waivers person truthful acold been approved by Rubio for "foreign subject financing for Israel and Egypt and administrative expenses, including salaries, indispensable to administer overseas subject financing".

The State Department has been approached for comment.