According to a new State Department memo issued Friday, Donald Trump’s administration has suspended all foreign aid for 90 days, 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, after which he will make a recommendation to Trump.
According to the memo, this ensures that America’s foreign aid obligations “are not duplicated, are effective, and consistent with President Trump’s foreign policy.”
The memo includes a special exemption for “foreign military financing” for Egypt and Israel, “including salaries, necessary to administer foreign military financing.” These two countries happen to guard Gaza’s exits.
While Gaza is currently enjoying a respite from months of nonstop 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 there.
Notably, Ukraine, which has received hundreds of billions of dollars in aid from the United States, did not receive a waiver. Earlier this week, Trump expressed 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 conflict in Ukraine. Trump has threatened sanctions if his diplomatic efforts fail.
On Monday, Trump issued an executive order prohibiting “new obligations and disbursements” of foreign aid to countries, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and contractors for 90 days, while the country’s commitments were reviewed.
