Limited and vague guidance around how the Trump administration’s foreign aid freeze and stop-work order will play out has spurred widespread anxiety and confusion through the aid sector. The abrupt order to halt the agency’s expansive global programming network one week ago has left staffers and partner organizations uncertain about what sort of expenses are considered legitimate, and therefore exempt, from the freeze.
U.S. Agency for International Development Acting Administrator Jason Gray told the agency’s staffers Thursday that the “Operating Expenses” and “Capital Investment Fund” accounts aren’t part of the aid freeze, according to an email obtained by Devex.
He wrote the agency’s operating units are authorized to disburse these funds, as needed, “consistent with the applicable laws, funds availability, operational requirements, Executive Orders, and other Agency guidance.”
About the authors
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
Ayenat Mersie
Ayenat Mersie is a Global Development Reporter for Devex. Previously, she worked as a freelance journalist for publications such as National Geographic and Foreign Policy and as an East Africa correspondent for Reuters.
