Let’s not sugarcoat it: It’s been a hell of a week — and to cap it off, U.S. President Donald Trump put all U.S. foreign aid programs on ice. We have exclusive details — and because we didn’t want to wait to pass them along to you, we’re cranking out a special Saturday edition of Devex Newswire to get you caught up on all the intel we gathered this week.
US foreign aid grinds to a halt
In a stunning development, the U.S. State Department issued a memo yesterday that puts an immediate pause on all new foreign aid spending and a stop-work order for existing grants and contracts, my colleague Michael Igoe scoops.
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“Effective immediately, Assistant Secretaries and Senior Bureau Officials shall ensure that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, no new obligations shall be made for foreign assistance until such time as the Secretary [of State Marco Rubio] shall determine, following a review,” reads the memo, which was sent to all diplomatic and consular posts by Peter Marocco, Trump's appointee to head the State Department's Office of Foreign Assistance.
The order also states: “For existing foreign assistance awards, contracting officers and grant officers shall immediately issue stop-work orders, consistent with the terms of the relevant award, until such time as the Secretary shall determine, following a review. Decisions whether to continue, modify, or terminate programs will be made following this review.”
Let me sum that up for you: Wow. Just wow.
The move leaves little doubt that Trump is determined to reshape the U.S. foreign aid apparatus into the mold of his “America First” agenda. The current order follows an earlier one that suspended U.S. foreign assistance spending for 90 days and declared that “The United States foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values.”
Again, wow.
“It causes chaos in the system. Globally,” a former senior USAID official tells Michael. “It effectively halts almost all foreign assistance. And sends USAID into a tailspin along with its partners.”
A current senior USAID official adds that the guidance clearly puts the secretary of state “in the driver’s seat” in carrying out the review.
But while Rubio issued the order, it was drafted by Marocco, the controversial new appointee to head the State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance, whose selection is causing heartburn for many (and PTSD for some) at USAID.
That’s because Marocco is no stranger to the agency. During the first Trump administration, he served stints in the Departments of Defense, State, and Commerce before landing at USAID’s Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization — with a thud, his critics say. There, he reportedly tried to rewrite the bureau’s mandate and slash funding. After staff members wrote a furious dissent memo, he went on leave. Recently, he and his wife were spotted inside the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots of 2021.
Now he’s back, with a vengeance apparently, and questions are swirling over how much power he’ll wield at State and whether that will bleed over to USAID. There’s even been speculation that he could take on a “dual-hatted” role that could see him become USAID administrator.
Given his past, he’d likely have a tough time being confirmed, but these are no ordinary times.
Exclusive: State Department issues stop-work order on US aid
ICYMI: Trump's foreign assistance freeze generates uncertainty and confusion
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Moving in
Of course, we don’t know who the next administrator will be — but as soon as we do, you will too — although some pieces are already being shoehorned into place. Here are a few names Trump may be dispatching to the agency according to multiple well-placed sources.
• Mark Moyar: deputy administrator for policy and programming.
• Tim Meisburger: head of the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance.
• Mark Kevin Lloyd: head of the Bureau of Conflict Prevention and Stabilization.
• Matt Hopson: chief of staff.
• Joel Borkert: deputy chief of staff.
• Meghan Hanson: director of policy.
Many come with some type of Trumpian baggage — or credentials, depending on your political viewpoint. Moyar, for example, wrote “Masters of Corruption: How the Federal Bureaucracy Sabotaged the Trump Presidency,” which pretty much tells you what he thinks of the U.S. government.
ICYMI: Return to Trumpworld — who will shape US aid policy? (Pro)
+ On Monday, Jan. 27, Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar will join top USAID experts for a discussion on what Trump’s foreign aid freeze means for USAID and its partners. This is a free members-only event for Devex Pro members. Not a Pro member yet? You can sign up for a free trial when registering for this event.
Spying on your cubicle neighbor?
All eyes will not only be on appointees such as Marocco; they may be trained on coworkers, at least if the Trump administration gets its way.
In a blunt order that threw many for a loop, the White House told federal employees to report any efforts to “conceal” diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, or DEIA, programs — and that failure to do so could result in “disciplinary action.”
To recap, Trump is getting rid of DEIA programs across the U.S. government — and apparently, he wants to be as thorough as possible.
“As we work together to implement an America First agenda, we understand there might have been some efforts by individuals to rebrand these offices, positions, programs, contracts, and grants,” USAID Acting Administrator Jason Gray wrote in an internal message sent to staff that was seen by my colleague Michael Igoe.
The memo instructs staff members who are aware of efforts “to obscure the connection between the contract or grant and DEIA or similar ideologies” made since the U.S. election on Nov. 5, 2024, to report these to the email address DEIAtruth@opm.gov within 10 days.
Can we say ominous?
Read: USAID threatens ‘disciplinary action’ in DEIA crackdown
+ Check out our page dedicated to the future of U.S. aid.
Communications blackout
In a way, we’re fortunate to have the info we do have on Trump’s no-holds-barred transition. That’s because the White House also told USAID employees this week to pause all public communications until further notice.
That further notice came pretty fast though.
On Wednesday, the director of internal communications at USAID wrote an email to staff members that indicated the temporary pause on all communication, including on traditional and social media, would be lifted on Thursday morning, my colleague Sara Jerving reports.
But USAID employees are still forbidden to talk about four executive orders that Trump issued. That includes a 90-day pause in disbursements of foreign aid to decide which programs will continue and which ones will be canned; the federal demise of DEIA programs; a federal hiring freeze; and the mandate for federal employees to return to the office, as opposed to working remotely.
Scoop: USAID employees barred from discussing 4 executive orders publicly
Background reading: USAID employees told to ‘pause’ public communications
Talk of the town
Forbidden or not, everyone in development circles will be talking about Trump’s cryptic plans for U.S. foreign assistance.
Some are panicking about the prospect of machete-wielding cuts; others are urging calm and hoping for a scalpel-like approach to aid.
George Ingram, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former senior USAID official, tells Michael that the key will be whether the administration shuts down a mass of programs or cherry-picks those that Republicans have long argued force an unwanted progressive ideology on other countries — such as climate change and reproductive health policies
Either way, none of this upheaval should come as a shock, says Porter DeLaney, founding partner of the Kyle House Group, speaking at a recent Devex Pro Live event on how Trump could change U.S. foreign aid.
“If any of us are surprised that they’re proposing a substantial change, then we weren’t paying close enough attention over the last 18 months,” he points out, adding: “It’s dangerous to draw conclusions about things that we don’t have all the information about, of which there are many right now.”
Watch: Trump’s first 100 days — what’s next for US foreign aid? (Pro)
Listen: What does Trump’s first week in office mean for global development?
Background reading: What will the presidential transition mean for US aid implementers? (Pro)
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The US exit
So far we’ve focused on reaction inside the Beltway — for those who don't know, that refers to the traffic-clogged highways that encircle Washington, D.C. But what about outside the Beltway — far outside of it — say, in Geneva or Paris?
The Swiss hub is, of course, home to the World Health Organization, while Paris is the namesake of the landmark climate agreement struck in 2016 to curb global warming. Both were promptly kicked to the curb by Trump, who withdrew the U.S. from WHO and the Paris Agreement during his first week in office.
The move was entirely in line with Trump’s campaign promises, so it was hardly a surprise, but let’s be real: For all the diplomatic reassurances that the world will come together to fight for global health and climate change in America’s absence, it’s a throat punch nonetheless.
The United States contributes a large chunk of WHO money that goes to vital health programs such as emergency preparedness and response, HIV and tuberculosis, and childhood vaccinations, my colleague Jenny Lei Ravelo writes. The effects are already being felt, with WHO instituting a hiring freeze, travel cutbacks, and even limits on the purchase of IT equipment to save a few bucks.
Likewise on climate, in addition to abandoning the Paris Agreement, there’s speculation Trump wants to quit UNFCCC, the international treaty responsible for coordinating global climate action. The U.S. currently contributes about one-quarter of the total UNFCCC budget, my colleague Jesse Chase-Lubitz writes.
Beyond the economic hit, the loss of U.S. participation in these global health and climate arenas is a blow to global morale, and the pain may be a two-way street. While these institutions lose out on a critical partner, the United States could lose out as well — as it finds itself unable to exert its influence over life-or-death issues ranging from global pandemics to natural disasters. Not only that, but geopolitical rivals like China may be all too happy to fill the void.
Listen: ‘People may die’ if US cuts foreign aid, says UNAIDS chief
ICYMI: Paris Agreement in peril as Trump reenters White House
Plus: Trump orders US exit from the World Health Organization. Can it survive the financial hit? (Pro)
Update, Jan. 27. 2025: This article has been updated to clarify that the U.S. State Department issued a memo that freezes new foreign aid spending and halts work on current projects supported by grants and contracts.
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About the author
Anna Gawel
Anna Gawel is the Managing Editor of Devex. She previously worked as the managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, the flagship publication of D.C.’s diplomatic community. She’s had hundreds of articles published on world affairs, U.S. foreign policy, politics, security, trade, travel and the arts on topics ranging from the impact of State Department budget cuts to Caribbean efforts to fight climate change. She was also a broadcast producer and digital editor at WTOP News and host of the Global 360 podcast. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Maryland in College Park.
