Aid organizations fear that the funding embargo is preventing clinics from receiving medication in a timely manner and denying hundreds of thousands of people worldwide access to medical care and humanitarian supplies.
Changes under the Trump administration have completely upended the US organization responsible for sending humanitarian relief to other nations; thousands of contractors have been fired off, hundreds of top officials have been placed on leave, and billions of dollars in international aid have been frozen.
Declaring that “the US government is not a charity,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the halt on international aid on Thursday.
Aid organizations claim that the funding block has caused them to question if they will be able to continue running programs like those that give severely malnourished newborns and children round-the-clock nutritional support.
Staffers were asked to submit requests to exempt specific programs from the foreign aid freeze imposed by President Donald Trump on January 20. The State Department provided instructions on how to implement the change on January 24, according to current and former officials at the State Department and the US Agency for International Development.
At least 56 top career USAID employees were abruptly placed on administrative leave three days later.
Many of those placed on leave, according to three officials, were attorneys who helped draft proposals, determined which programs may be eligible for waivers, then submitted those waiver requests because they felt they had been invited to do so.
For fear of retaliation, the officials spoke on condition of anonymity. Due to a Trump administration edict that assistance organizations see as a gag order, they are reluctant to speak out for fear of losing US support indefinitely.
Jason Gray, the new acting administrator of USAID, stated in an internal memo on Monday regarding the staffing changes that the organization had discovered “several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the President’s Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people.”
In order to finish our examination of these acts, we have put certain USAID workers on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice, Gray wrote.
Those placed on leave, according to a former senior USAID official, had been assisting relief organizations in navigating the “confusing process” of requesting exceptions from the assistance stop for particular life-saving initiatives, such sustaining safe water supplies for displaced people in conflict areas.
Others were found to have participated in programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, which the government has outlawed.
According to two of the officials who had seen internal emails and confirmed their authenticity, a USAID human resources official who attempted to reverse the action on Thursday, claiming there was no need for it, was put on leave himself. The emails were initially reported on X by ProPublica and Vox reporters.
Messages for comment on the staffing changes were not answered by the White House or the State Department.
According to the former senior official, the new authorities at USAID also unexpectedly fired contractors who made up almost half of the staff in the humanitarian bureau on Tuesday, knocking them off their computers to the point where some of them disappeared during video chats.
From grant processing and data analytics to administrative and travel support, the targeted institutional service vendors handle it all.
The State Department released rules last Friday for implementing Trump’s executive order halting foreign assistance for 90 days, three days prior to the staffing cutbacks.
According to the department, it is examining US spending to make sure it complies with administration policy.
At first, the guidelines exclusively exempted emergency food programs and military aid to Egypt and Israel. However, they later stated that program administrators and implementers could request waivers for programs they thought would satisfy administration standards.
Rubio reiterated the prospect of waivers on Tuesday, issuing a more comprehensive waiver for programs that offer additional “life-saving” aid, including as medication, medical services, food, and shelter. In an interview with SiriusXM anchor Megyn Kelly on Thursday, Rubio cited the expanded exemptions.
He stated, “We don’t want to see people die and the like.”
Programs that make “America safer, stronger, or more prosperous” will be reviewed, according to Rubio.
According to Rubio, the US was “getting a lot more cooperation” from beneficiaries of security, development, and humanitarian help as a result of the decision to shut down US-funded initiatives during the 90-day assessment. “Because you wouldn’t receive your money otherwise.”
The State Department reported that it has authorized dozens of exceptions since the aid block began, but many of them were revoked due to a lack of sufficient information. It stated that waiver requests for “billions of dollars” worth of programs have been received and are being examined.
The agency said that up to this point, its efforts have prevented over $1 billion from being spent on projects and programs that are “not aligned with an America First agenda,” but it did not say how many waiver requests had been turned down.
The legal continuation of US-funded programs remains unclear despite the expansion of exemptions for life-saving care.
