On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order ordering a 90-day review of U.S. foreign assistance programs, instructing agencies to “immediately pause new obligations and disbursements of development assistance funds to foreign countries and implementing non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and contractors” as part of the review.

On January 24, the State Department directed stop-work orders on nearly all existing foreign assistance awards, including billions for global health programs like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

On January 28, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued an emergency waiver for some existing life-saving humanitarian assistance programs, but the majority of foreign aid projects remain paused while implementing partners have reported “a lack of clarity about how to operationalize the waiver” for life-saving programs.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has taken steps dismantle the United States foreign aid system, including by effectively shuttering the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). It has terminated or put on leave nearly all USAID staff, closed USAID offices, and announced the termination of as many as 6,200 contract awards and 9,100 grants that help prevent outbreaks of disease, provide health services to newborns, and support people displaced by conflict, among a wide range of other activities.