US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday that Trump administration is trying to identify and exempt certain USAID programs from scanning work orders, as part of the president’s wider frost Donald Trump on foreign aid.
This decision comes after the administration has all placed USAID employees in the world on leave directly and recalled thousands of staff abroad, following Trump’s directive last month to stop most US foreign services in accordance with its “America First” policy.
Trump and his assistants said they were aimed at ensuring that billions of dollars in help in the United States, including humanitarian aid distributed worldwide, align with his “America First” policy. He instructed the billionaire Elon Musk, who accused USAID of being a criminal organization without providing evidence, with the reduction of the agency.
Since Trump’s freezing on January 20, arrest work orders have interrupted a large part of the agency’s help in the world, which has led to the layoff of hundreds of entrepreneurs. However, Monday’s announcement listed some exceptions, including “specially designated programs”.
“This language is deliberate, because we will now have to work … to identify which programs should be specifically designated and therefore exempt from this order,” said Rubio at a press conference in the city of Guatemala.
The exemption criteria will depend on whether a program strengthens American national interests and aligns with them. “And those who will not continue,” added Rubio.
He repeated his accusation that USAID staff did not cooperate with administration efforts to collect more information on the programs. However, he noted that the staff of the State Department working on similar programs provided an overview of the administration.
“In the State Department … We had a very good idea, and that is why, every day, we issue derogations from the programs of the State Department,” said Rubio. He did not provide details on what these derogations implied.
Emergency food aid has not been included in the open frost on foreign aid. On January 28, Rubio issued an additional exemption for vital aid and described the criteria for what would be eligible.
However, the lack of details in the order of Trump and the subsequent derogations have left confused assistance groups as to whether their work can continue.
On Wednesday, Reuters said that the United States had interrupted purchases for foreign food aid programs, despite an exemption for food aid.
Gel on wheat purchases, soybeans and other products produced by American farmers could hinder or stop organizations that provide millions of tonnes of food per year to help mitigate poverty in countries like Madagascar , Tanzania and Honduras, sources said.
