What a year the last week has been. That is likely the sentiment among legions of humanitarian workers both in the United States and around the world who have been left thoroughly dazed and confused by executive orders from the Trump White House that demanded an immediate halt to all federally financed domestic and overseas humanitarian programs.
A court ruling reversed some aspects of the funding freeze just days later and Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued qualified reversals of his own orders following a global uproar against the aid suspension. But for many overseas agencies, a lot of the damage has already been set in motion.
The damage done
Nate Radomski, the executive director of American Jesuits International reports that “Jesuit programs around the world, in Africa, Asia and Latin America, have been suspended” in response to the funding halt. Though Mr. Rubio has clarified that aid flows for lifesaving humanitarian interventions should not be affected by the administration’s funding freeze, these Jesuit-sponsored education, sustainability and development initiatives have not—at least so far—received waivers.
“That’s led to dozens of individuals being laid off,” Mr. Radomski said. “Children are not having access to education initiatives. Families are having their livelihoods impacted…and there’s the need that is not being addressed.”
Most humanitarian agencies operate just ahead of insolvency in the best of times, Mr. Radomski said. The three-month funding suspension proposed by the Trump administration will be a death sentence for many of them. And, he points out, there is no guarantee what will happen when the freeze is lifted.
The president first ordered a stop to overseas aid disbursements on Jan. 20, describing a “foreign aid industry and bureaucracy…not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values.” The president ordered a 90-day pause to allow an “assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy.”
On Jan. 24, the State Department issued a follow-up memo that ordered a sweeping freeze on new funding for almost all U.S. foreign assistance, with exceptions for military aid to Israel and Egypt. Mr. Rubio’s order, delivered in a cable sent to U.S. embassies worldwide, also specifically exempted emergency food programs, including a U.S.-funded effort to feed millions in a widening famine in warring Sudan.
But the directives from Washington seemed to demand an abrupt halt to U.S.-funded projects globally that support health, education, development, job training, anti-corruption, security assistance and other efforts. Thousands of U.S.-funded humanitarian, development and security programs worldwide stopped work or were preparing to do so in response to the directives, and humanitarian aid organizations began laying off hundreds of employees, The Associated Press reported.
Jesuit Refugee Service-USA joined a statement responding to the White House moves from InterAction, an alliance of international nongovernmental organizations and partners in the United States. “The recent stop-work cable from the State Department suspends programs that support America’s global leadership and creates dangerous vacuums that China and our adversaries will quickly fill,” it said.
“This halt interrupts critical life-saving work including clean water to infants, basic education for kids, ending the trafficking of girls, and providing medications to children and others suffering from disease. It stops assistance in countries critical to U.S. interests, including Taiwan, Syria, and Pakistan. And, it halts decades of life-saving work through PEPFAR that helps babies to be born HIV-free.”
InterAction urged that the administration conduct its foreign assistance review without disrupting existing programs, “especially those programs millions need to survive. The stop-work is costly in time and funding and the impact to U.S. influence globally will be irreparable.”
Confusion and clarifications
A weekend of worldwide confusion and dismay followed the initial orders from Washington. That confusion only escalated on Jan. 27 when another memo issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget provoked more uncertainty over the federal financial lifeline for states, schools and overseas organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington.
The O.M.B. ordered that federal agencies pause “to the extent possible under applicable laws” all activities “related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance…including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”
According to the memo, the aid stop would continue while those agencies completed “a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders.”
Mr. Trump’s weeklong march of executive orders have led to a cascade of court challenges contending that the president had overstepped constitutional bounds. His effort to end birthright citizenship was turned back at least temporarily by one federal court on Jan 23. And on Jan. 28, nonprofit groups persuaded a federal judge in Washington to put the administration’s spending freeze on hold until a hearing on Feb. 3.
Mr. Rubio issued clarifications on Jan. 28 that will temporarily continue disbursements for programs that provide lifesaving medicine, medical services, food, shelter and subsistence assistance, according to a copy of a signed waiver obtained by The Associated Press. While some in the aid community expressed hope that Mr. Rubio’s follow-up instructions would rescue more of the programs that sustain refugees, the gravely ill and others around the world, U.S.-funded operations of all kinds stepped up the pace of layoffs, furloughs and program shutdowns.
And as the uproar over the aid suspension swelled on Jan. 27, the Trump administration placed 56 senior officials with the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave. The AP reports many of the suspended staff were helping organizations respond to the aid freeze. U.S.A.I.D.’s acting head said he was investigating whether those acts suggested the officials were resisting Mr. Trump’s orders.
Few members of the humanitarian assistance community were willing to speak about the week’s events, utterly gobsmacked by the Trump administration’s moves or perhaps fearful of retaliation against their agencies. The Associated Press reported that White House officials warned members of the humanitarian community not to speak to the media.
But Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, told The AP, “The aid community is grappling with just how existential this aid suspension is.”
In other media reports, humanitarian aid officials who asked to remain anonymous said that thousands of lives could be lost because of the interruption of services. They added that many interrupted programs would be difficult to resurrect should the aid money be restored.
Though other countries provide more per capita in foreign assistance than the United States, the U.S. delivers more foreign aid globally than any other country—40 percent of all worldwide humanitarian aid—about $60 billion in 2023. While consistent polling shows that many Americans believe that outlay is much higher, foreign aid programs actually represent just under 1 percent of the U.S. budget.
As uncertainty about the commitment of the current administration to foreign aid spiked this week, analysts noted that other world powers like China would be likely to step in where U.S. assistance begins to falter. They warned that the United States will begin to seem like an unreliable partner in long-term efforts to combat hunger and poverty or to promote human and economic development.
Foreign aid's return on investment
The president’s moves against international humanitarian assistance were quickly challenged by long-time aid recipients like the venerable anti-hunger effort Bread for the World. In an email, Bread for the World urged its supporters to appeal to their representatives in Congress to turn back the White House decisions on aid.
The Trump administration's orders “will impact tens of millions of the most vulnerable populations around the world. And in the U.S., the administration may soon pause nutrition programs impacting nearly 48 million people,” according to Bread for the World.
“While reviews are standard for incoming administrations, pauses are not,” the message continued. “These programs must be able to continue to provide vital assistance without severe disruptions while the reviews are underway.”
According to Bread for the World, in 2023, nutrition programs funded by the Department of State’s U.S.A.I.D. but administered by humanitarian agencies “reached more than 39 million women and children globally with critical nutrition assistance, including 28 million children with nutrition programs and 11 million women with counseling on maternal and child nutrition.”
Catholic Relief Services issued a similar appeal to donors to intervene with Congress, noting that the administration’s decision to stop work on almost all U.S. foreign assistance programs “will be detrimental to millions of our sisters and brothers who need access to lifesaving humanitarian, health and development assistance.”
C.R.S. acknowledged that new administrations “usually review ongoing programs against their policy goals.” But, it added, “ceasing almost all lifesaving humanitarian and development assistance during that time will have real impacts for human life and dignity and on U.S. national interests.”
In an emergency appeal to A.J.I. supporters, Mr. Radomski wrote:
“For over six decades, U.S. foreign aid has lifted millions out of poverty...Our commitment as a Jesuit institution to ‘cura personalis’—care for the whole person—has been repeatedly supported through programs sponsored by the U.S. State Department, allowing us to provide access to education and livelihoods to thousands of vulnerable individuals.
“These cuts aren’t just numbers—they represent lives in limbo: children missing school, families losing income, and communities without access to vital care.”
A.J.I. supports Jesuit education and development initiatives in 35 countries around the world, including the Jesuit education network Fe y Alegría, active in 22 countries across Latin America, Africa and Europe. Concerned about the survival of many Jesuit efforts that rely on U.S. funding, A.J.I. urges that all international funding be restored as quickly as possible.
Despite the consternation and confusion, Mr. Radomski suggested the week’s jarring events could be an opportunity to raise public awareness about the importance of foreign aid and the good work it is achieving in the world. While many Americans consider foreign aid unnecessary or wasteful, he argues that the United States gets a tremendous return on this modest good will investment.
“We’re called by our Creator to accompany those most in need, and we can do that. We can do that in our communities as well as around the world,” he said. “International aid is an opportunity for us to share our values and to contribute to a stronger and safer and more democratic world. That’s an opportunity that we should not take lightly.”
With reporting from The Associated Press
The Weekly Dispatch takes a deep dive into breaking events and issues of significance around our world and our nation today, providing the background readers need to make better sense of the headlines speeding past us each week. For more news and analysis from around the world, visit Dispatches.
More from America
- Trump is pushing the limits of executive power. Congress must push back.
- Unpacking JD Vance’s ‘very nasty’ attack on the US bishops’ refugee program
- Bishop Budde, Trump and the history of faith leaders getting political
- Catholic migration experts on Trump’s plan to end birthright citizenship: ‘an affront to human dignity’
