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U.S. Halt to Foreign Aid Cripples Programs Worldwide 

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to halt foreign aid. Now, air groups across the world are panicking as they are directed to obey the almost universal order by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to stop work. Officials have directed groups to freeze almost all programs that received any part of the $70 billion annual aid budget approved by Congress. Groups around the world are beginning to lay off or furlough employees. As backlash grew earlier this week, Rubio issued a memo allowing for life-saving humanitarian assistance to continue. The Trump administration stated that the orders are aimed to ensure that all foreign aid programs align with Trump’s agenda on foreign policy. 

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/us/politics/trump-rubio-foreign-aid.html