Updated on January 21, 2025, at 3:50 pm EST
President Trump has ordered a 90-day pause on US “foreign development assistance” as one of his many executive orders signed on Monday night.
It’s unclear how extensive the order is or if it will have any impact on military aid to foreign countries. Ukrainian officials say the order doesn’t apply to weapons flowing to Ukraine or any economic aid that’s been approved by President Biden, and the order isn’t expected to apply to weapons shipments to Israel.
According to The Associated Press, it’s not “immediately clear how much assistance would initially be affected by the Monday order as funding for many programs has already been appropriated by Congress and is obligated to be spent if not already spent.”
The purpose of the order is to review each program’s “efficiency and consistency with United States foreign policy,” a process that will be overseen by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was one of the most hawkish members of Congress during his time in the Senate.
The order reads that it is the “policy of [the] United States that no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States.”
The order says that each review “shall be ordered by the responsible department and agency heads under guidelines provided by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the” White House’s Office of Management and Budget.
Another order signed by Trump directed Rubio to enact an “America First” foreign policy. “As soon as practicable, the Secretary of State shall issue guidance bringing the Department of State’s policies, programs, personnel, and operations in line with an America First foreign policy, which puts America and its interests first,” the order reads.
