US freeze on foreign aid draws criticism

WASHINGTON — The US State Department has ordered a sweeping freeze on new funding for almost all US foreign assistance, making exceptions for emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt, a move that risks cutting off billions of dollars of lifesaving assistance, drawing immediate criticism.

The foreign aid pause has forced the suspension of flights for more than 40,000 Afghans approved for special US visas, Reuters reported on Saturday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's order on Friday, delivered in a cable sent to US embassies worldwide, specifically exempted emergency food programs, such as those helping to feed millions in a widening famine in Sudan.

The stoppage was triggered by US President Donald Trump's order to halt foreign development aid for 90 days pending a review of efficiencies and consistency with his "America First" foreign policy.

Experts and advocacy groups say the foreign aid pause has led to chaos in US and international aid operations and halted nutrition, health, vaccination and other programs.

The order also triggered a suspension by the State Department of funds for groups that help Afghans with Special Immigrant Visas to find housing, schools and jobs in the US.

Most of those stranded are in Afghanistan and the rest are in Pakistan, Qatar and Albania, said Shawn VanDiver, head of #AfghanEvac, the main coalition of veterans and advocacy groups working with the US government to evacuate and resettle Afghans who worked for the United States during the 20-year war.

Friday's order especially disappointed humanitarian officials by not including specific exemptions for lifesaving health programs, such as clinics and immunization programs.

A globally acclaimed anti-HIV program, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, was among those included in the spending freeze, slated to last at least three months. Known as PEPFAR, the program is credited with saving 25 million lives, including 5.5 million children.

Some aid projects began receiving their first stop-work orders under the freeze on Friday afternoon.

Suspending funding "could have life or death consequences" for children and families around the world, said Abby Maxman, head of Oxfam America.

Communities face threat

"By suspending foreign development assistance, the Trump administration is threatening the lives and futures of communities in crisis, and abandoning the United States' long-held bipartisan approach to foreign assistance which supports people based on need, regardless of politics," Maxman said in a statement.

At the United Nations, deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said:"These are bilateral decisions but nonetheless we expect those nations who have the capability to generously fund development assistance."

While Rubio's order exempted military assistance to allies Israel and Egypt from the freeze, there was no indication of a similar waiver to allow US military assistance to Ukraine, The Associated Press reported.

The Joe Biden administration pushed military aid to Ukraine out the door before leaving office because of doubts about whether Trump would continue it. But there is still about $3.85 billion in congressionally authorized funding for any future arms shipments to Ukraine and it is now up to Trump to decide whether or not to spend it.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday the US has not stopped military aid to Ukraine. Zelensky did not clarify whether humanitarian aid had been paused. Ukraine relies on the US for 40 percent of its military needs.

Also on Friday, the State Department agency overseeing refugee and resettlement sent guidance to the resettlement agencies it works with, saying they had to immediately "suspend all work" under the foreign assistance they were receiving.

The State Department cable said effective immediately, senior officials "shall ensure that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, no new obligations shall be made for foreign assistance" until Rubio has made a decision after a review.

It says that for the existing foreign assistance awards stop-work orders shall be issued immediately until reviewed by Rubio.

"This is lunacy," Jeremy Konyndyk, a former USAID official who is now president of Refugees International, said. "This will kill people. I mean, if implemented as written in that cable … a lot of people will die."

"There's no way to consider this as a good-faith attempt to sincerely review the effectiveness of foreign assistance programming. This is just simply a wrecking ball to break as much stuff as possible," Konyndyk said.

Meanwhile, US planes carrying dozens of expelled migrants arrived in Guatemala, authorities said on Friday.

Agencies via Xinhua