A catastrophe made in the U.S.A. — the deadly foreign aid cutoff
Congress appropriated $40 billion under existing laws that Trump has chosen to ignore.
Without warning, the Trump administration last month cut off almost all foreign aid, a sudden freeze on funds that:
- Risks the lives of more than 20 million people receiving regular HIV medication, especially LGBTQ people, women and HIV-infected children;
- Jeopardizes the health of 3 million children in U.S.-funded anti-malaria programs;
- Cuts off thousands of Ukrainians from mobile medical treatment near the front lines and counseling services for thousands of Ukrainian war veterans; and
- Much more that is slowly coming to light as reports filter in from programs throughout the world that have depended on the $40 billion annual spending in foreign aid that Congress appropriated under existing laws that Trump has chosen to ignore.
It’s a deadly catastrophe that’s made in the U.S.A.
This article attempts to keep track of what’s going on and why. It will be updated.
To soften the blow of the aid freeze, Secretary of State Marco Rubio agreed to allow waivers for “life-saving humanitarian assistance”, defined as “core lifesaving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance, as well as supplies and reasonable administrative costs as necessary to deliver such assistance.”
But it’s unclear who could approve such waivers. Last week, almost 60 senior officials of the American foreign-aid agency, USAID, were sent home on paid leave. USAID employees were fired, apparently for informing USAID partners about what was going on, which violated an mandated communications blackout.
The USAID website was taken offline over the weekend.
At 12:45 a.m.Eastern time today, USAID employees were told not to report to work because the USAID headquarters in Washington, D.C., would be closed
Today, Rubio said he now the acting administrator of USAID and would delegate management of day-to-day operations to Pete Marocco, who has been handling the dismantling of the agency for Trump.
Elon Musk, who is spearheading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort, said during an online conversation on X (Twitter) that Trump agrees with him that USAID should be shut down — and that the shutdown is already under way.
Musk said that unlike an apple contaminated by a worm, the agency is “a bowl of worms.”\
“There is no apple,” he said. “It’s beyond repair.”
The following updates have been incorporated above:
1:40 p.m. Feb. 3. Pete Marocco selected to administer day-to-day operations at what’s left of USAID.
