Feb 03 WATCH: USAID ‘attitude’ not aligned with U.S. national interest, Rubio says By Associated Press Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke for the first time about thousands of USAID employees who have been laid off and programs that have been shut down. Continue reading
Feb 02 USAID security chiefs put on leave after trying to stop Musk’s team from accessing classified info, officials say By Ellen Knickmeyer, Matthew Lee, Associated Press The Trump administration has placed two top security chiefs at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave after they refused to turn over classified material in restricted areas to Elon Musk's government-inspection teams, a current and a former U.S. official told… Continue reading
Feb 01 USAID website goes dark amid Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid worldwide By Ellen Knickmeyer, Associated Press The website of the U.S. Agency for International Development went offline without explanation Saturday as thousands of furloughs, layoffs and program shutdowns continued in President Donald Trump's freeze on U.S.-funded foreign aid and development worldwide. Continue reading
Jan 24 Watch 2:42 State Department suspends nearly all U.S. foreign aid for 3 months By Nick Schifrin, Dan Sagalyn The State Department suspended all foreign assistance around the world for at least three months. That affects tens of billions of dollars on programs that run from military assistance to Ukraine to supporting police in Mexico who interdict fentanyl coming… Continue watching
Jan 21 Trump executive order suspends U.S. foreign assistance for 90 days By Matthew Lee, Associated Press It was not immediately clear how much assistance would initially be affected by the Monday order as funding for many programs has already been appropriated by Congress and is obligated to be spent, if not already spent. Continue reading
Jan 09 Watch 11:23 U.S. aid leaves out local groups addressing food security in Africa, critics say By Fred de Sam Lazaro One of the biggest challenges facing sub-Saharan African nations is how to help farmers withstand climate and economic headwinds and produce food for a growing population. Critics say most U.S. aid dollars are going to U.S.-based companies with little involvement… Continue watching
Jan 08 Watch 9:29 Is U.S. foreign aid for health care being used effectively? By Fred de Sam Lazaro The vast majority of foreign aid administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development goes through middlemen, international aid agencies or U.S.-based private companies that then distribute the assistance. Critics say the system leaves out many deserving locally-led startups and… Continue watching
Jan 07 Watch 8:41 Where does U.S. foreign aid go and does it make an impact? By Fred de Sam Lazaro The U.S. has long been one of the world’s largest donors of foreign aid. But in recent years, its effectiveness has been called into question by a chorus of critics who say the impact of assistance programs falls well short… Continue watching
Apr 23 Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in big bipartisan vote By Mary Clare Jalonick, Stephen Groves, Farnoush Amiri, Associated Press President Joe Biden said in a statement immediately after passage that he will sign it Wednesday and start the process of sending weapons to Ukraine, which has been struggling to hold its front lines against Russia. Continue reading
Apr 21 A breakdown of what’s in the $95 billion foreign aid package passed by the House By Associated Press A look at what's in the $95 billion package passed by the House on Saturday that will provide military aid to Ukraine and Israel, replenish U.S. weapons systems and give humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. Continue reading