U.S. Foreign Aid Frozen as Part of ‘America First’ Agenda
A 90-day freeze on most U.S. foreign assistance was announced over the weekend by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a White House official. The move comes as part of a review into whether the funding coincides with President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
The White House official revealed that millions of dollars worth of U.S. funding for “condoms in Gaza” was also frozen as part of the pause. The revelation was made while explaining that a separate memo from the Office of Management and Budget will temporarily pause grants, loans, and federal assistance programs pending a review.
“If the activity is not in conflict with the President’s priorities, it will continue with no issues,” the White House official stated. “This is similar to how HHS stopped the flow of grant money to the WHO after President Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the organization. Or how the State Department halted several million dollars going to condoms in Gaza this past weekend.”
According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the Department of Government Efficiency and the OMB found that $50 million in taxpayer dollars was about to be sent to fund condoms in Gaza, calling it a “preposterous waste of taxpayer money.”
State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce listed several examples of how the pause in foreign assistance has allowed the department to prevent “unjustified and non-emergency” spending, including on condoms. The funding freeze “prevented $102 million in unjustified funding to a contractor in Gaza, including money for contraception,” the spokesperson said.
The move is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to “ensure it puts ‘America First,'” as stated by Secretary of State Rubio. The Jerusalem Post reported in 2020 that scores of condoms were being used to create IED-carrying balloons that winds would carry into southern Israel, causing damage and destruction.
At least 56 senior USAID officials were placed on leave pending an investigation into alleged efforts to thwart Trump’s orders. An internal USAID notice said new acting administrator Jason Gray had identified “several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the President’s Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people.”