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Funding will remain on hold during a three-month assessment period
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order freezing all US foreign development assistance for 90 days, pending a review.
Amid a barrage of other orders signed by Trump on his first day in office, the White House announced the decision as part of efforts to reassess the foreign aid strategy and ensure alignment with national priorities.
Current US foreign aid allocations are “not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values,” and “serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries,” the executive order published by the White House on Monday said.
The executive order directs federal agencies to conduct a comprehensive review, overseen by the Office of Management and Budget, as well as State Secretary Marco Rubio, who can waive the 90-day period for “specific programs.”
It was not immediately clear how much US aid would be affected by the decision, as funding for a number of programs has already been allocated by Congress.
The executive order echoes the stance Trump took in his first presidency, when he moved to slash funding for various UN agencies and cut foreign aid.
“I will, very simply, put America first,” Trump said in his inauguration speech on Monday.
Trump was critical of US foreign assistance to countries including Ukraine during his reelection campaign, promising to ease the burden on the American taxpayer and focus on domestic priorities.
The United States had been a significant supporter of Kiev under former US President Joe Biden, providing substantial military, financial, and humanitarian aid, especially following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
In 2022 alone, Congress approved over $112 billion in assistance to Ukraine.
In April 2024, the US House of Representatives passed a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
In January 2025, the United States announced a $500 million military assistance package to Ukraine.
Russia has consistently criticized such support, viewing it as a direct threat to its security. Russian officials have argued that Western military assistance prolongs the conflict and destabilizes the region.
