The US president has promised a return to his ‘America First’ policy during his second term
US President Donald Trump has confirmed that he has enacted a sweeping suspension of aid to foreign countries.
“I imposed a federal hiring freeze, a federal regulation freeze, a foreign aid freeze,” Trump told a crowd of supporters in Las Vegas on Saturday. “And I created the new Department of Government Efficiency, and we’re going to have a lot of good people,” he added.
Shortly after being sworn in on Monday, Trump signed an executive order suspending all foreign development assistance programs for 90 days, pending reviews to determine whether they align with his ‘America First’ policy goals.
During his campaign, Trump promised to cut wasteful spending and refocus the attention of the government on domestic issues, such as US sovereign debt and the fight against illegal immigration.
On Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly issued a memo halting the disbursement of funds through the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with a few exceptions, including military assistance to Israel and Egypt.
In a statement on Wednesday, Rubio said, “every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?”
Although the Pentagon reportedly said earlier that the aid freeze would not affect weapons deliveries to Ukraine, several news agencies reported that Rubio’s memo does not mention exemptions for military aid to Ukraine and other key partners, such as Taiwan and NATO countries.
Trump has frequently criticized the administration of former President Joe Biden for sending tens of billions of dollars of aid to Kiev, promising instead to push for a quick diplomatic resolution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
