Washington: The Trump administration’s policy shifts have significantly affected the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which provides humanitarian aid worldwide. Many senior officials have been placed on leave, thousands of contractors have been laid off, and billions of dollars in foreign aid have been frozen.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the temporary suspension of foreign aid, stating that the American government is not a charitable organization.
Humanitarian organizations warn that the funding halt and uncertainty over which aid programs will be discontinued have raised concerns about continuing critical initiatives, such as those providing food to malnourished children. They stress that if these programs shut down, many children could face life-threatening consequences.
Current and former officials from the State Department and USAID confirmed that staff members have been asked to submit requests for exemptions from the temporary aid suspension for specific programs.
President Donald Trump imposed the temporary foreign aid freeze on January 20. Last week, at least 56 senior officials at USAID were abruptly placed on leave. Three officials, speaking on condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation, revealed that most of those affected were legal experts responsible for determining which programs might qualify for exemptions.
The aid freeze was widely interpreted by relief organizations as a “gag order,” discouraging them from speaking publicly out of fear that they could lose U.S. funding permanently.
USAID’s new acting administrator, Jason Gray, addressed the staff changes in an internal memo, stating that certain actions within the agency had contradicted the president’s executive orders and the American public’s mandate.
“As a result, we have placed several employees on administrative leave with full pay until further notice while we review these actions,” Gray wrote.
Neither the State Department nor the White House responded to inquiries about the staffing changes.
A former senior official disclosed that on Tuesday, USAID’s new leadership abruptly terminated numerous contractors, who make up nearly half of the agency’s workforce.
The staffing changes occurred just three days after the State Department issued guidelines last Friday to enforce Trump’s executive order, freezing foreign aid for 90 days. However, emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt were exempted from these restrictions.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that life-saving assistance—such as essential medicines, medical services, food, and shelter—would be exempt from the aid freeze.
Despite these exemptions, it remains unclear whether U.S.-funded humanitarian programs can continue operating legally under the new directives.
