According to a new State Department memo released on Friday, Donald Trump’s administration has imposed a 90-day moratorium on all foreign aid, with the exception of Israel and Egypt.
The memo signed by new Secretary of State Marco Rubio “shall ensure that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, no new obligations shall be made for foreign assistance” until Rubio conducts an 85-day review and makes a recommendation to Trump.
According to the memo, this ensures that America’s foreign aid obligations “are not duplicated, are effective, and are consistent with President Trump’s foreign policy.”
The memo includes an exception for “foreign military financing” for Egypt and Israel, “including salaries, necessary to administer foreign military financing.” These two countries happen to guard the Gaza exits.
While Gaza is currently enjoying a respite from months of relentless bombing, Trump recently admitted that he is “not confident” that the ceasefire agreement he helped negotiate will hold, leaving the door open for more brutality.
Notably, Ukraine, which has received hundreds of billions of dollars in aid from the US, did not receive a waiver. Earlier this week, Trump expressed an interest in discussing “denuclearization” between the United States and Russia.
This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated that he was willing to talk with Trump about ending the war in Ukraine. Trump has threatened sanctions if diplomacy fails.
On Monday, Trump issued an executive order prohibiting any “new obligations and disbursements” of foreign aid to countries, nongovernmental organizations, international organizations, and contractors for 90 days, while the country’s commitments were reviewed.