The Art of the Deal
Secretary of State Marco Rubio halted spending on most existing foreign aid grants for 90 days.
www.newsweek.com
Representative
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia
Republican, voiced her support on Friday for the recent halt in foreign aid seemingly impacting Ukraine.
Newsweek has reached out to Greene and the White House via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Greene, an ally of President
Donald Trump, has been a staunch critic of former President
Joe Biden's Ukrainian aid amid the Russia-Ukraine war that began nearly three years ago.
Trump has also criticized the billions of dollars the Biden administration has spent in supporting Kyiv and has said that if he was at the negotiating table with Russian President
Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky, the war between the two nations
would end "within 24 hours," leading to concerns that he would press Zelensky to surrender the territory Moscow currently occupies.
While the foreign aid freeze is temporary and Trump has signaled he may continue to take a tough stance on Russia, it's still unclear how much military aid he will give to Kyiv.
What To Know
Secretary of State
Marco Rubio on Friday
halted spending on most existing foreign aid grants for 90 days.
The order, communicated through a cable to U.S. embassies worldwide and obtained by the Associated Press, prohibits new government spending and implies that existing programs will only continue as long as they have available cash.
As the world's largest provider of foreign aid, the U.S. allocated approximately $60 billion in 2023, which represents about 1 percent of the national budget.
While the new guidance means no further actions will be taken to disperse aid funding to programs already approved by the U.S. government, there are exceptions for humanitarian food initiatives and military aid to Israel and Egypt.
The halt comes after Trump's recent executive order, signed on Monday, instructed the State Department to pause foreign aid grants for 90 days pending review by the secretary.
"President Trump and our new Secretary of State Marco Rubio just stopped all foreign aid to Ukraine and other countries, except Israel and Egypt. The State Department is shocked. The American people are not, we are celebrating," Greene wrote on X, formerly
Twitter.
However, it's unclear how exactly the halt will impact Ukraine. According to the AP on Saturday, Zelensky said the U.S. has not stopped military aid to his country. While Zelensky didn't clarify whether humanitarian aid had been paused, he said at a press conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, "I am focused on military aid; it has not been stopped, thank God."
Ukraine relies on the U.S. for 40 percent of its military needs.
The temporary freeze in foreign aid comes after the U.S. was previously set to provide Ukraine an additional $500 million in weapons, announced under the Biden administration earlier this month, drawing from existing U.S. stockpiles.
The military aid, authorized under presidential drawdown authority, allows for expedited transfer of munitions and equipment from U.S. stockpiles to Ukraine. A senior defense official who earlier this month briefed reporters traveling with then-Defense Secretary
Lloyd Austin said the goal was to get those munitions into Ukraine before the end of the month, ensuring that Kyiv remains in a strong position as the administration transitions.
What People Are Saying
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Newsweek earlier this month: "President Trump has repeatedly stated that a top priority in his second term will be to quickly negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war. Also, President Trump believes European nations should meet their
NATO defense spending obligations and step up their share of the burden for this conflict, as the U.S. has paid significantly more, which is not fair to our taxpayers. He will do what is necessary to restore peace and rebuild American strength and deterrence on the world stage."
Abby Maxman, head of Oxfam America, told the Associated Press: "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."
She added that the suspension "could have life or death consequences" for children and families around the world.
What Happens Next
Within the next month, standards will be set to review all foreign assistance, aligning it with Trump's policy agenda. The comprehensive government-wide review is expected to be completed within three months, culminating in a report.
Rubio will then use the report to make recommendations to the president.
