US freezes nearly all new foreign aid except to Israel and Egypt

The State Department ordered a sweeping freeze Friday on new funding for almost all US foreign aid, making exceptions for emergency food programmes and military aid to Israel and Egypt.

The order threatened a quick halt to many of the billions of dollars in US-funded projects globally to support health, education, development, job training, anti-corruption, security aid and other efforts.

The US provides more foreign aid globally than any other country, budgeting about US$60 billion in 2023, or about 1 per cent of the US budget.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s order, delivered in a cable sent to US embassies worldwide, specifically exempted emergency food programmes, such as those helping to feed millions in a widening famine in warring Sudan.

The cable spells out the execution of the aid-freezing executive order US President Donald Trump signed on Monday.

But Friday’s order especially disappointed humanitarian officials by not including specific exemptions for life-saving health programmes, such as clinics and immunisation programmes.