The U.S. State Department has admitted to mistakenly cutting lifesaving humanitarian assistance — while also stating that the United States’ “commitment to foreign aid remains.”
“There were a few programs that were cut in other countries that were not meant to be cut, that have been rolled back and put into place,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Tuesday.
Bruce was speaking just days after a fresh round of aid cuts rippled across the sector, slashing 42 programs across Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and beyond. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously stated the foreign aid review was “officially” complete, posting that a six-week purge had cut 83% of programs at the U.S. Agency for International Development as of early March.
About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
