Whew. What a week. President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday threw U.S. foreign assistance into turmoil. Not only did he announce the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization and the Paris climate agreement — moves that had been widely anticipated — but he also unveiled an unexpected 90-day pause on aid, backed up by a global stop-work order for USAID and State Department employees working on existing aid grants and contracts, pending a review. He also threatened "disciplinary action" for all federal staff working on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, or DEIA.
Following the announcements, we saw unprecedented levels of interest during a Devex Pro event last week on how Trump might reshape U.S. aid in his first 100 days. Lots of you asked us to run more of these events as we get further into the Trump administration — and we will, helping you to parse the orders, policies, and information that are emerging. You can catch up on the full event recording here. Bear in mind that it took place before the global stop-work order was issued.
Coming up: It’s not all about the U.S. Join us this week for a review of the U.K. Labour government’s record on aid and global development six months into its term, and a look at what to expect from this major donor in the coming year (and, OK, as part of that, we might also consider how the U.K. will respond to what’s happening in the U.S.).