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USAID website goes offline amid Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid
Washington
AP
—
The website of the US Agency for International Development went offline without explanation Saturday as thousands of furloughs, layoffs and program shutdowns continued amid President Donald Trump’s freeze on US-funded foreign aid and development worldwide.
Congressional Democrats have battled the Trump administration increasingly openly, expressing concern that Trump may be headed toward ending USAID as an independent agency and absorbing it into the State Department. Democrats say Trump has no legal authority to eliminate a congressionally funded independent agency, and that the work of USAID is vital to national security.
Trump and congressional Republicans say much of foreign aid and development programs are wasteful. They single out programs they say advance liberal social agendas.
The fear of even tougher administration action against USAID comes two weeks into the administration’s shutdown of billions of dollars of the United States’ humanitarian, development and security assistance.
The US is the world’s largest donor of humanitarian aid by far. It spends less than 1% of its budget on foreign assistance, a smaller share overall than some other countries.
Administration officials had no comment Saturday when asked about concerns expressed by lawmakers and others that Trump may be planning to end USAID as an independent agency.
President John F. Kennedy created USAID at the height of the Cold War to counter Soviet influence. Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act in 1961, and Kennedy signed that law and an executive order establishing USAID as an independent agency. USAID today is at the center of US challenges to the growing influence of China, which has a successful “Belt and Road” foreign aid program of its own.
USAID staffers spent Friday and Saturday in group chats monitoring the fate of their agency, giving updates on whether the USAID flag and signs were still up outside headquarters in Washington. As of late Saturday afternoon, they were.
In a Friday post on X, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said presidents cannot eliminate congressionally appropriated federal agencies by executive order, and said Trump was poised to “double down on a constitutional crisis.”
“That’s what a despot — who wants to steal the taxpayers’ money to enrich his billionaire cabal — does,” Murphy said.
Billionaire Elon Musk, advising Trump in a campaign to whittle down the federal government in the name of efficiency, endorsed posts on his X site calling for dissolving USAID.
“Live by executive order, die by executive order,” Musk posted Saturday in reference to USAID.
Trump placed an unprecedented 90-day freeze on foreign assistance on his first day in office January 20. Days later, the State Department froze nearly all foreign assistance worldwide, shutting down thousands of programs around the world and forcing the furloughs or layoffs of many thousands.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has since moved to keep more kinds of strictly life-saving emergency programs going during the freeze. Aid groups say confusion surrounding what programs are still allowed to operate is contributing to paralysis in global aid organizations.
Rubio said Thursday, in his first public comments on the matter, that USAID’s programs were being reviewed to eliminate any that are not in the national interest, but he said nothing about eliminating USAID as an agency.
The shutdown of US-funded programs during the 90-day review meant the US was “getting a lot more cooperation” from recipients of humanitarian, development and security assistance, Rubio said.
Republicans and Democrats have fought over the agency for years, arguing whether humanitarian and development aid protects the US by helping stabilize partner countries and economies, or whether it is a waste of money. Republicans typically push to give the State Department more control of USAID’s policy and funds, while Democrats typically build USAID autonomy and authority.
A version of that legal battle played out in Trump’s first term, when the president tried to cut the budget for foreign operations by a third.
When Congress refused, the Trump administration used freezes and other tactics to cut the flow of funds already appropriated by Congress for foreign programs. The General Accounting Office later ruled that it violated a law known as the Impoundment Control Act.
The USAID website has mysteriously gone offline amidst the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid. This unprecedented move has raised concerns among experts and advocates who rely on the website for critical information and updates on global aid programs.The website, which serves as a hub for USAID’s efforts to provide assistance to developing countries, has been inaccessible for several days now. This outage comes at a time when the Trump administration is facing scrutiny for its controversial decision to freeze billions of dollars in foreign aid.
Many are questioning whether the website’s disappearance is a deliberate attempt to suppress information about USAID’s work and the impact of the administration’s foreign aid policies. Critics argue that this move could hinder transparency and accountability in the distribution of aid funds.
In response to the outage, USAID officials have stated that they are working to resolve the issue and restore the website as soon as possible. However, the timing of this incident has only fueled suspicions about the administration’s motives.
As the situation continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how this outage will impact the flow of information and resources to those in need around the world. Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.
Tags:
USAID, Trump administration, foreign aid freeze, USAID website, government shutdown, international development, global assistance, US foreign policy, aid funding, international relations
#USAID #website #offline #Trump #administrations #freeze #foreign #aidEmergency Humanitarian Waiver to Foreign Assistance Pause
To carry out President Trump’s Executive Order on Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid, yesterday I approved an additional waiver of the pause for life-saving humanitarian assistance during the period of the review.
Implementers of existing life-saving humanitarian assistance programs should continue or resume work if they have stopped, subject to the directions outlined in this waiver. This resumption is temporary in nature, and with limited exceptions as needed to continue life-saving humanitarian assistance programs, no new contracts shall be entered into.
The full, signed waiver can be found here.
In times of crisis, such as natural disasters or conflicts, swift and efficient humanitarian assistance is crucial to saving lives and providing relief to those in need. However, there are instances where bureaucratic processes and regulations can hinder the timely delivery of aid.That’s why the concept of an Emergency Humanitarian Waiver to Foreign Assistance Pause is so important. This waiver would allow humanitarian organizations and agencies to bypass certain restrictions and procedures that may delay or impede the delivery of aid in emergency situations.
By implementing this waiver, governments and organizations can ensure that aid reaches those in need quickly and efficiently, without unnecessary delays or obstacles. This could mean the difference between life and death for countless individuals affected by crises around the world.
It’s time for governments and policymakers to recognize the importance of flexibility and responsiveness in humanitarian assistance, and to prioritize the well-being and safety of those in need above all else. The implementation of an Emergency Humanitarian Waiver to Foreign Assistance Pause is a crucial step towards achieving this goal.
Tags:
Emergency humanitarian waiver, foreign assistance pause, humanitarian aid, global crisis response, international aid, emergency relief efforts
#Emergency #Humanitarian #Waiver #Foreign #Assistance #PauseDistribution of US-backed HIV medications to poorest nations in flux after Trump order slowing foreign aid
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During a 90-day foreign aid freeze, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued exemptions for life-saving humanitarian assistance, but the fate of HIV treatment for the world’s poorest nations remains uncertain.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on any foreign assistance as agencies review to ensure they will not be “disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy” of the president.
On Tuesday, contractors working with the U.S. Agency for International Development received memos to halt work immediately, sources told Reuters. That evening, Rubio exempted humanitarian assistance, which he defined as “core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance, as well as supplies and reasonable administrative costs as necessary to deliver such assistance,” according to the waiver seen by the Washington Post.
The waiver didn’t explicitly mention the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a global health program that includes HIV treatment, testing and prevention drug distribution across the world, according to the New York Times. The distribution of HIV medications seemed to be permitted under the waiver, but whether preventative HIV drugs and other services are allowed is not immediately clear.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved a waiver exempting humanitarian assistance after President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on foreign aid — but HIV medications are still in flux. (REUTERS) The program, which began in 2003 under the George W. Bush administration, received $6.5 billion in government funding in 2024. If aid to the program is cut permanently, more than 20 million people across the globe living with HIV, including 560,000 children, around the world would no longer have access to life-saving treatment.
Gumisayi Bonzo, director of a health nonprofit in Zimbabwe, told the Associated Press that stripping access to HIV medication would be life-altering.
“I have been religiously taking medicines for over two decades, I am living a normal life again, and suddenly we have to stop,” she said. “That’s a death sentence for many people.”
If treatments are interrupted, patients are more susceptible to getting sick and the disease could spread to others, Reuters reported. Inconsistent treatment could also lead to drug resistance.
“We can very rapidly return to where the pandemic is exploding, like it was back in the 1980s,” Dr. Steve Deeks, an HIV expert at the University of California, San Francisco, told the New York Times. “This really cannot happen.”
The program has nearly 200,000 providers; on average, they make around $3,000 per year, “making even short funding suspensions extremely difficult,” according to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.
Each day, the program supports more than 222,000 people receiving treatments, according to amfAR. The program also supports hundreds of thousands of HIV tests, newly diagnosing 4,374 people with HIV every day, including pregnant women.
“If H.I.V. testing falls by the wayside, it’s unlikely that we will be able to even diagnose people who need to go into treatment,” Dr. Glenda Gray, a pediatric HIV expert at Wits University in South Africa, told the Times.
If pregnant women are unable to get tested, they could unknowingly pass the virus to their children.
The World Health Organization, which Trump ordered the U.S.’s withdrawal from, called on the Trump administration to “enable additional exemptions to ensure the delivery of lifesaving HIV treatment and care.”
The global health body warned of the consequences around the world and in America should PEPFAR funding be frozen: “A funding halt for HIV programs can put people living with HIV at immediate increased risk of illness and death and undermine efforts to prevent transmission in communities and countries. Such measures, if prolonged, could lead to rises in new infections and deaths, reversing decades of progress and potentially taking the world back to the 1980s and 1990s when millions died of HIV every year globally, including many in the United States of America.”
The distribution of US-backed HIV medications to the poorest nations is facing uncertainty after a recent order by President Trump to slow down foreign aid. This decision has left many global health organizations and advocates worried about the future of HIV treatment in developing countries.The US has been a major contributor to the global fight against HIV/AIDS, providing billions of dollars in funding for medication and treatment programs in low-income countries. However, with the new directive to reduce foreign aid, many fear that crucial medications will not reach those in need.
The distribution of US-backed medications is already a complex process, involving partnerships between government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, and non-profit organizations. Any disruption in funding or support could have devastating consequences for the millions of people living with HIV in the poorest nations.
Global health advocates are calling on the Trump administration to reconsider its decision and prioritize funding for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs. They argue that cutting foreign aid will not only harm those in need but also undermine the progress made in the fight against the epidemic.
As the situation continues to unfold, it is crucial for the international community to come together and find solutions to ensure that HIV medications reach those who need them most. The health and well-being of millions of people are at stake, and we cannot afford to let political decisions jeopardize their access to life-saving treatment.
Tags:
- US-backed HIV medications distribution
- Trump foreign aid order
- HIV medications for poorest nations
- Global health crisis
- Trump administration policy impact
- HIV treatment access
- International aid programs
- US foreign aid cuts
- Healthcare disparities
- Public health policy changes
#Distribution #USbacked #HIV #medications #poorest #nations #flux #Trump #order #slowing #foreign #aid
Distribution of US-backed HIV medications to poorest nations in flux after Trump order slowing foreign aid
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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
During a 90-day foreign aid freeze, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued exemptions for life-saving humanitarian assistance, but the fate of HIV treatment for the world’s poorest nations remains uncertain.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on any foreign assistance as agencies review to ensure they will not be “disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy” of the president.
On Tuesday, contractors working with the U.S. Agency for International Development received memos to halt work immediately, sources told Reuters. That evening, Rubio exempted humanitarian assistance, which he defined as “core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance, as well as supplies and reasonable administrative costs as necessary to deliver such assistance,” according to the waiver seen by the Washington Post.
The waiver didn’t explicitly mention the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a global health program that includes HIV treatment, testing and prevention drug distribution across the world, according to the New York Times. The distribution of HIV medications seemed to be permitted under the waiver, but whether preventative HIV drugs and other services are allowed is not immediately clear.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved a waiver exempting humanitarian assistance after President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on foreign aid — but HIV medications are still in flux. (REUTERS) The program, which began in 2003 under the George W. Bush administration, received $6.5 billion in government funding in 2024. If aid to the program is cut permanently, more than 20 million people across the globe living with HIV, including 560,000 children, around the world would no longer have access to life-saving treatment.
Gumisayi Bonzo, director of a health nonprofit in Zimbabwe, told the Associated Press that stripping access to HIV medication would be life-altering.
“I have been religiously taking medicines for over two decades, I am living a normal life again, and suddenly we have to stop,” she said. “That’s a death sentence for many people.”
If treatments are interrupted, patients are more susceptible to getting sick and the disease could spread to others, Reuters reported. Inconsistent treatment could also lead to drug resistance.
“We can very rapidly return to where the pandemic is exploding, like it was back in the 1980s,” Dr. Steve Deeks, an HIV expert at the University of California, San Francisco, told the New York Times. “This really cannot happen.”
The program has nearly 200,000 providers; on average, they make around $3,000 per year, “making even short funding suspensions extremely difficult,” according to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.
Each day, the program supports more than 222,000 people receiving treatments, according to amfAR. The program also supports hundreds of thousands of HIV tests, newly diagnosing 4,374 people with HIV every day, including pregnant women.
“If H.I.V. testing falls by the wayside, it’s unlikely that we will be able to even diagnose people who need to go into treatment,” Dr. Glenda Gray, a pediatric HIV expert at Wits University in South Africa, told the Times.
If pregnant women are unable to get tested, they could unknowingly pass the virus to their children.
The World Health Organization, which Trump ordered the U.S.’s withdrawal from, called on the Trump administration to “enable additional exemptions to ensure the delivery of lifesaving HIV treatment and care.”
The global health body warned of the consequences around the world and in America should PEPFAR funding be frozen: “A funding halt for HIV programs can put people living with HIV at immediate increased risk of illness and death and undermine efforts to prevent transmission in communities and countries. Such measures, if prolonged, could lead to rises in new infections and deaths, reversing decades of progress and potentially taking the world back to the 1980s and 1990s when millions died of HIV every year globally, including many in the United States of America.”
The distribution of US-backed HIV medications to the poorest nations is currently in flux following a recent order by former President Donald Trump to slow down foreign aid. This move has raised concerns among health officials and advocates who fear that it could have devastating consequences for millions of people living with HIV in developing countries.The US has long been a major donor in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, providing lifesaving medications and funding for treatment programs in countries with high rates of infection. However, Trump’s order to slow down foreign aid has created uncertainty about the future of these programs and the availability of medication for those in need.
Health officials warn that any disruptions in the supply chain could lead to a resurgence of the HIV epidemic in these countries, undoing years of progress in combating the disease. Advocates are calling on the Biden administration to prioritize funding for HIV treatment and prevention programs in developing nations to ensure that those most in need continue to receive the care they require.
The distribution of US-backed HIV medications to the poorest nations is a critical lifeline for millions of people, and any delays or interruptions in this process could have dire consequences. It is imperative that the US government takes swift action to address these concerns and ensure that those living with HIV in developing countries continue to have access to the medication and care they need to stay healthy.
Tags:
- US-backed HIV medications
- Trump foreign aid order
- Global distribution of HIV medications
- Impact on poorest nations
- HIV medication supply chain
- Foreign aid policies
- US government health initiatives
- HIV treatment access
- Aid to developing countries
- Global health crisis management
#Distribution #USbacked #HIV #medications #poorest #nations #flux #Trump #order #slowing #foreign #aid
Rubio’s foreign aid freeze applies to millions in funding for ‘condoms in Gaza’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s decision to freeze foreign aid over the weekend included pulling millions of dollars-worth of U.S. funding for “condoms in Gaza,” a White House official told Fox News Digital.
The revelation came as the official explained that a separate memo from the Office of Management and Budget will temporarily pause grants, loans and federal assistance programs pending a review into whether the funding coincides with President Donald Trump’s executive orders, such as those related to ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), the Green New Deal, and funding nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) “that undermine the national interest.”
“If the activity is not in conflict with the President’s priorities, it will continue with no issues,” the White House official told Fox News Digital. “This is similar to how HHS [Department of Health and Human Services] stopped the flow of grant money to the WHO [World Health Organization] 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.”
RUBIO PAUSES FOREIGN AID FROM STATE DEPARTMENT AND USAID TO ENSURE IT PUTS ‘AMERICA FIRST’
Palestinians attach an incendiary device to inflated plastic bags and condoms to be directed and flown towards Israel, near Rafah along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel on Aug. 21, 2020. (SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department on Tuesday seeking additional information.
In her first-ever briefing Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the OBM found “that there was about to be $50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza.”
“That is a preposterous waste of taxpayer money. So that’s what this pause is focused on, being good stewards of tax dollars,” Leavitt told reporters. She said DOGE and OBM also found $37 million was about to be sent to the WHO before Trump’s executive order breaking ties with the global health body.
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, raising alarm on schoolyards, farmlands and highways.
At the time, the Post reported that the improvised explosive devices – floated into Israel via inflated contraceptives – burned thousands of hectares of land and caused “millions of shekels of damage.” It’s not clear if the practice continues.
Just two days after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, which involved Hamas terrorists brutally raping some of the approximately 1,200 people killed in southern Israel and hundreds of others brought back into Gaza as hostages, a global NGO known as the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) released a statement regarding the resulting war and escalating violence.
The NGO claimed that any blockade of aid shipments into Gaza would infringe on their “enormous gains made in life-saving sexual and reproductive healthcare in this region.”
“Palestinians are systematically denied sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights,” the executive director of a corresponding NGO, the Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association (PFPPA), said at the time. “Our health system has been repeatedly targeted and depleted by the Israeli occupation, and the more it disintegrates, the more it will hinder the full realization of these rights for women and girls.”
On Sunday, Rubio paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for review.
Palestinians prepare incendiary devices before being attached to inflated condoms and plastic bags, to be directed and flown towards Israel, near Rafah along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel on Aug. 21, 2020. (SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)
The move came in response to Trump’s executive order, “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” issued last week directing a sweeping 90-day pause on most U.S. foreign assistance disbursed through the State Department.
The State Department said Sunday that Rubio was initiating a review of “all foreign assistance programs to ensure they are efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda.”
“President Trump stated clearly that the United States is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people. Reviewing and realigning foreign assistance on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not just the right thing to do, it is a moral imperative. The Secretary is proud to protect America’s investment with a deliberate and judicious review of how we spend foreign assistance dollars overseas,” a State Department spokesperson said Sunday.
“The mandate from the American people was clear – we must refocus on American national interests,” the statement added. “The Department and USAID take their role as stewards of taxpayer dollars very seriously. The implementation of this Executive Order and the Secretary’s direction furthers that mission. As Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, ‘Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?’”
The wind propels refrigerant gas-filled condoms attached to incendiary devices into Israeli territory after being released by a group of masked Palestinians near the Israel-Gaza border. (Mohammed Talatene/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Rubio had specifically exempted only emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt from the freeze on foreign assistance.
On Monday, at least 56 senior USAID officials were placed on leave pending an investigation into alleged efforts to thwart Trump’s orders, the Associated Press reported, citing a current official and a former official at USAID.
An internal USAID notice sent late Monday and obtained by the AP 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.” “As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions,” Gray wrote.
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The senior agency officials put on leave were experienced employees who had served in multiple administrations, including Trump’s, the former USAID official said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rubio’s foreign aid freeze applies to millions in funding for ‘condoms in Gaza’Senator Marco Rubio has recently announced a freeze on millions of dollars in foreign aid that was designated for various projects, including the distribution of condoms in Gaza. The move has sparked controversy and debate among lawmakers and advocacy groups.
The funding for the condom distribution program in Gaza was part of a broader initiative aimed at promoting sexual health and education in the region. However, Rubio and other critics argue that the money would be better spent on other priorities, such as infrastructure development or humanitarian aid.
Proponents of the program argue that access to contraception is crucial for public health and preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections. They also point out that family planning services can help empower women and promote gender equality in conservative societies like Gaza.
The freeze on foreign aid funding has raised questions about the United States’ role in promoting global health and development goals. It remains to be seen how this decision will impact the people of Gaza and other regions that rely on foreign aid for essential services.
Tags:
- Rubio foreign aid freeze
- Gaza funding cut
- Condoms in Gaza
- Foreign aid controversy
- Rubio funding decision
- US aid to Gaza
- Humanitarian aid freeze
- Rubio foreign aid policy
- Gaza health funding
- International aid cuts
#Rubios #foreign #aid #freeze #applies #millions #funding #condoms #Gaza
Trump orders ban foreign aid, rescind federal funds guidance for abortion • Oregon Capital Chronicle
In a move that global health workers say will likely have devastating consequences for women and girls throughout the world, President Donald Trump has reinstated a policy that bans foreign aid workers from offering information about abortion, and doubled down on an existing domestic policy that bans federal funding for abortion.
The so-called Mexico City Policy, which Trump reinstated Friday night with an executive order, was first introduced in 1984 under Republican President Ronald Reagan, and bans foreign non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, that receive U.S. family planning funds from promoting abortion as a method of family planning and from abortion-related counseling and referrals. It is known by reproductive rights advocates as the “global gag rule,” and it has been rescinded and reinstated as presidential administrations have changed parties for many years.
“We saw the devastating impact of the global gag rule during the last Trump administration when contraception and vital reproductive services were cut off. There was a spike in pregnancy-related deaths, reproductive coercion, and gender inequality worldwide,” said Rachana Desai Martin, chief government and external relations officer at the Center for Reproductive Rights, in a statement. “Many clinics and health programs shuttered, leaving vulnerable populations with nowhere to get birth control, pregnancy care and other vital health services.”
Reinstatement of the policy was prescribed in Project 2025, a nearly 1,000-page blueprint document authored by the Heritage Foundation and many other organizations, including several anti-abortion groups.
“To stop U.S. foreign aid from supporting the global abortion industry, the next conservative administration should issue an executive order that, at a minimum, reinstates [the policy] and … closes loopholes by applying the policy to all foreign assistance, including humanitarian aid,
and improving its enforcement,” page 261 of the document reads. “The executive order … should be drafted broadly to apply to all foreign assistance.”
The executive order includes the statement, “I direct the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to the extent allowable by law, to implement a plan to extend the requirements of the reinstated memorandum to global health assistance furnished by all departments or agencies.”
Advocates within foreign assistance organizations said the change will affect not only abortion access, but comprehensive reproductive health services, including HIV prevention and treatment, contraception access, screening for sexually transmitted diseases and cancers, and treatments for other infectious diseases.
“An expanded Mexico City Policy will have wide-reaching impacts on women and girls’ access to life-saving healthcare,” Janeen Madan Keller, policy fellow and deputy director of global health policy at the Center for Global Development, said in a statement. “As research shows, the Mexico City Policy reduces access to contraception which — counter to the policy’s intended goal — leads to more unplanned pregnancies and higher abortion rates.”
Madan Keller added that when Trump reinstated the rule during his first term in 2017, other donors were able to bolster the United Nations Population Fund’s budget and blunt any negative effects.
“However, with many donors now slashing aid budgets, it’s unclear whether they would cover the shortfall,” she said.
On the same day as the executive orders, the Trump administration rejoined the so-called Geneva Consensus Declaration, a global agreement launched by the U.S. and five other countries in 2020, which states that there is no international right to abortion and countries are not obligated to finance or facilitate it, according to a document obtained by Politico. The pact also includes Brazil, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia and Uganda.
Hyde Amendment
Trump issued another executive order on Friday titled, “Enforcing the Hyde Amendment,” referring to a federal provision prohibiting the use of federal funds such as Medicaid to pay for abortions. Hyde does, however, allow funding in cases of rape, incest or to save a patient’s life. The order said the prior Democratic administration of President Joe Biden “embedded forced taxpayer funding of elective abortions” in a variety of federal programs, and rescinded two of Biden’s executive orders from 2022 that aimed to increase access to abortion.
Trump signed the orders at the end of a week where he was mostly silent on abortion. But after days of lobbying by anti-abortion movement leaders, Trump on Thursday pardoned convicted abortion-clinic blockaders and earlier Friday gave a last-minute video speech at the anti-abortion March for Life.
Project 2025 references the Hyde Amendment several times, citing Biden’s 2022 executive order that allowed the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary to find ways to assist pregnant people traveling across state lines to receive abortion care. The Biden administration subsequently interpreted Hyde to only apply to the abortion procedure itself.
Page 471 of the document calls for HHS to withdraw that guidance and for the U.S. Department of Justice to withdraw and disavow its interpretation of the amendment that was issued in September 2022. It also says HHS should complete a full audit to determine compliance with the amendment and permanently codify the Hyde Amendment in law rather than approving it as part of an appropriations process every year.
Republican U.S. Sens. John Kennedy of Louisiana and Roger Wicker of Mississippi introduced a bill in early January to codify the amendment and establish “a single, government-wide standard that bars federal tax dollars from financing abortions.” It’s unclear if that bill is an attempt to fully cut Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, which relies heavily on those funds to provide sexual and reproductive health services like contraception and screenings, including in states with abortion bans. Cutting that funding is a directive from Project 2025, as well.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
In a recent move by President Trump, foreign aid has been banned and federal funds guidance for abortion has been rescinded. This decision has sparked controversy and debate across the nation.The ban on foreign aid will affect many countries that rely on assistance from the United States for various programs and services. This decision has been met with criticism from humanitarian organizations who argue that cutting off aid will have devastating effects on vulnerable populations.
Additionally, the rescinding of federal funds guidance for abortion has reignited the ongoing debate over women’s reproductive rights. Pro-choice advocates have condemned the decision, stating that it will only serve to limit access to safe and legal abortion services.
As these policies continue to unfold, it is important for citizens to stay informed and engaged in the political process. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.
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- Federal funds guidance on abortion
- Trump policy on foreign aid
- Abortion funding in Oregon
- Political news updates
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- Trump administration policy updates
- Impact of foreign aid ban on abortion services
#Trump #orders #ban #foreign #aid #rescind #federal #funds #guidance #abortion #Oregon #Capital #Chronicle
Demonstrators attack foreign embassies in Congo’s capital to protest rebels’ advance in the east
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Dozens of demonstrators attacked several foreign embassies, including those of Rwanda, France and Belgium, on Tuesday demanding that they oppose the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels into a major city in the country’s conflict-battered east.
Police fired teargas at the protesters as they marched to the embassies in Kinshasa, looting and setting fires to parts of the buildings. The embassies of Kenya and Uganda were also attacked, according to Associated Press journalists at the scene.
Congo’s security forces were attempting to slow the rebels, who advanced into Goma, a key eastern city, in a major escalation of the decadeslong conflict.
The M23 rebels are one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region in the conflict, one of Africa’s largest.
The protesters demanded that the international community pressure Rwanda over the rebel advance.
“We denounce the hypocrisy of the international community,” said Timothée Tshishimbi, one of the protesters. “They must tell Rwanda to stop this adventure.”
Residents reported gunfire overnight in Goma, a city of 2 million people which the rebels claimed to have captured on Monday. Explosions and gunfire were heard near the now-shut Goma airport.
Goma is a regional trade and humanitarian hub holding hundreds of thousands of the more than 6 million people displaced by eastern Congo’s prolonged conflict over ethnic tensions that have resulted in one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
The M23 rebels temporarily took over Goma in 2012 before being forced to pull out under international pressure, and resurfaced in late 2021 with increasing support from Rwanda, according to Congo’s government and United Nations experts. Rwanda has denied such support.
It was unclear how much of Goma is controlled by the rebels, who marched into the city early Monday to both fear and cheers among residents. It was the culmination of weeks of fighting during which the rebels captured several towns in a shocking advance.
“Since morning we have heard bomb explosions and crackling bullets,” said Sam Luwawa, a resident of Goma. “So far we cannot say who really controls the city.”
Three South African peacekeepers were killed on Monday when the rebels launched a mortar bomb toward the Goma airport which landed on the nearby South African National Defense Force, while a fourth soldier succumbed to injuries sustained in fighting days ago, the South African Department of Defense said Tuesday.
That makes 17 peacekeepers and foreign soldiers who have been killed in the fighting, according to U.N. and army officials.
The humanitarian situation in Goma “is extremely, extremely worrying, with a new threshold of violence and suffering reached today,” Bruno Lemarquis, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Congo, told reporters in a video news conference on Monday. He said hundreds of thousands of people were attempting to flee the violence.
There were active combat zones in all areas of the city, with civilians taking cover and heavy artillery fire directed at the city center on Monday, Lemarquis said. He said several shells struck the Charité Maternelle Hospital in central Goma, “killing and injuring civilians, including newborns and pregnant women.”
“What is unfolding in Goma is coming on top of what is already one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth, with close to 6.5 million displaced people in the country, including close to 3 million displaced people in North Kivu,” Lemarquis said.
Aid groups are reporting they are unable to reach displaced people who rely on them for food and other necessities.
“Key roads surrounding Goma are blocked, and the city’s airport can no longer be used for evacuation and humanitarian efforts. Power and water have reportedly been cut to many areas of the city,” said David Munkley, head of operations in eastern Congo for the Christian aid group World Vision.
In addition to the U.N., several countries including the United States, United Kingdom and France have condemned Rwanda for the rebel advance. The country, however, blames Congo for the escalation, saying it failed to honor past peace agreements, necessitating Rwanda’s “sustained defensive posture.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the advance by the Rwanda-backed rebels in a call with Congo President Félix Tshisekedi on Monday during which both leaders agreed on the importance of advancing efforts to restart peace talks between Congo and Rwanda “as soon as possible,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
The Congolese leader will address the nation on the conflict, authorities said, amid growing pressure to act on the escalation.
Opposition leader Martin Fayulu appeared to suggest the president was not doing enough to respond to the crisis. In a statement, Fayulu called for protests against Rwanda and for support for Congo from the international community, adding: “If Mr. Félix Tshisekedi persists in standing in the way, he will be held solely responsible for the decline of our nation and will have to resign.”
___
Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Associated Press writers Christina Malkia and Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo, Edith M. Lederer in New York and Sam Mednick in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
In a shocking display of anger and frustration, demonstrators in Congo’s capital have attacked foreign embassies in protest of the rebel advance in the east. The violence erupted as news of rebel forces gaining ground in the volatile region spread, sparking outrage among the Congolese people.The protesters, armed with stones and makeshift weapons, targeted embassies of countries they believe are supporting the rebels or not doing enough to help stop the conflict. Windows were smashed, buildings were set on fire, and chaos reigned in the streets as security forces struggled to contain the situation.
The unrest underscores the deep-seated anger and fear gripping the country as violence escalates in the east. The rebel advance has displaced thousands of people, leading to a humanitarian crisis that is worsening by the day.
As the situation in Congo continues to deteriorate, it is imperative that the international community steps up its efforts to bring peace and stability to the region. The attacks on foreign embassies are a stark reminder of the urgency of finding a resolution to the conflict before more lives are lost and more chaos ensues.
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- Congo protests against rebels
- Demonstrators in Congo
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- Congo rebels’ advance
- Congo capital protests
- Embassy attacks in Africa
- Political unrest in Congo
- Congo rebel conflict
- Protest violence in Africa
#Demonstrators #attack #foreign #embassies #Congos #capital #protest #rebels #advance #east
US freezes almost all foreign aid effective immediately
CNN
—
The US State Department has frozen nearly all foreign assistance worldwide, effective immediately, days after President Donald Trump issued a sweeping executive order Monday to put a hold on such aid for 90 days.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a cable, seen by CNN, to all US diplomatic posts on Friday outlining the move, which threatens billions of dollars of funding from the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for programs worldwide.
Foreign assistance has been the target of ire from Republicans in Congress and Trump administration officials, but the funding accounts for very little of the overall US budget. The scope of the executive order and subsequent cable has left humanitarian and State Department officials reeling.
The cable calls for immediate “stop work” orders on existing foreign assistance and pauses new aid. It is sweeping in its scope. Essentially all foreign assistance appears to have been targeted unless specifically exempted. That means lifesaving global health aid, development assistance, military aid, and even clean water distribution could all be affected.
The cable provides a waiver only for emergency food assistance and foreign military financing for Israel and Egypt. The cable does not specifically mention any other countries that receive foreign military financing, like Ukraine or Taiwan, as being exempt from the freeze.
In the coming month, the cable said, the administration will develop standards for a review of whether the assistance is “aligned with President Trump’s foreign policy agenda.”
“Decisions whether to continue, modify, or terminate programs will be made following this review,” the cable states, noting that such a review should be completed within 85 days.
In a public statement on Wednesday, Rubio said that “every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?”
The impact of the freeze on assistance will be immense because the US is consistently the world’s largest humanitarian donor.
“It’s a global freak out at the moment,” a humanitarian official said Saturday.
InterAction, an alliance of international nongovernmental organizations, said in a statement Saturday that the freeze “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.”
“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,” the statement said.
One humanitarian official said the pause is incredibly disruptive and said the specifics of the cable are “as bad as can be.”
Another official told CNN that while they expected there to be cuts or changes to assistance to specific areas, they were not expecting such a sweeping and immediate pause. They said that the humanitarian needs worldwide are acute and a freeze in assistance from the US could be detrimental.
In his executive order, Trump claimed that the US “foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values.”
However, one of the officials noted that assistance programs, such as those related to global health, which are targeted by the freeze, are in the US’ interest and had enjoyed bipartisan support.
“Making sure there are not pandemics is in our interest. Global stability is in our interest,” they said.
Democratic Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York and Lois Frankel of Florida said in a Friday letter to Rubio that programs that appear affected by the freeze such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) “depend on an uninterrupted supply of medicines.” PEPFAR and PMI were launched by Republican President George W. Bush and have long enjoyed bipartisan support.
Meeks serves as the top Democratic on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Frankel is a member of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Subcommittee, meaning they both have oversight over State Department and USAID funding.
They added that people around the world — such as in conflict-ridden Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and Ukraine — rely on the continued flow of aid from the United States.
“Congress has appropriated and cleared these funds for use, and it is our constitutional duty to make sure these funds are spent as directed,” the letter read. “These funds respond directly to your stated challenge of carrying out a foreign policy that makes the United States stronger, safer, and more prosperous.”
The International AIDS Society warned on Saturday that halting PEPFAR would place millions of lives in jeopardy. IAS President Beatriz Grinsztejn said in a statement, “This is a matter of life or death. PEPFAR provides lifesaving antiretrovirals for more than 20 million people — and stopping its funding essentially stops their HIV treatment. If that happens, people are going to die and HIV will resurge.”
This story has been updated with new reporting.
CNN’s Max Rego and Shania Shelton contributed to this report.
In a shocking move, the United States has announced that it will freeze almost all foreign aid effective immediately. This decision will have far-reaching consequences for countries around the world that rely on US assistance for economic development, humanitarian aid, and other crucial support.The freeze comes as a surprise to many, as the US has long been a major provider of foreign aid to countries in need. The decision is likely to have a significant impact on countries that rely heavily on US assistance, such as those in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Critics of the move argue that cutting off foreign aid will only worsen the situation in many countries, leading to increased poverty, instability, and suffering. They also point out that the US has a moral obligation to help those in need around the world.
It remains to be seen how this decision will play out in the long run, but one thing is clear: the US’s decision to freeze almost all foreign aid will have a major impact on the global community.
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M23 rebels kill 13 foreign peacekeepers in DR Congo
Thirteen soldiers serving with peacekeeping forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been killed in clashes with rebels from the M23 group.
The South African military said nine of its soldiers died helping to push back a rebel advance on the city of Goma, in eastern DR Congo, while three Malawians and a Uruguayan were also killed.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he had spoken to the leaders of both DR Congo and Rwanda amid global calls for the violence to end.
The United Nations is pulling all non-essential staff out of Goma – a city of more than one million people – as the fighting intensifies.
A UN Security Council meeting about the deadly clashes, originally set for Monday, has been moved to Sunday due to the escalating conflict.
The M23 group has called on Congolese troops in Goma to surrender in order to avoid bloodshed. While DR Congo has severed diplomatic ties with neighbouring Rwanda, accusing the country of being behind the rebellion.
The move comes after M23 fighters killed a Congolese military governor who was visiting the frontline on Thursday. Earlier in January, they captured the key eastern Congolese towns of Minova and Masisi.
Macron called for an end to the fighting in separate calls with the leaders of DR Congo and Rwanda on Saturday, his office said.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged the M23 to halt its advance and condemned Rwanda’s support for the group, the AFP news agency reports.
Further condemnation came from Angolan President Joao Lourenco, the African Union’s mediator between Rwanda and DR Congo, who denounced “irresponsible actions by the M23 and its supporters” and called for the “immediate cessation” of fighting to preserve civilian lives, according to the AFP news agency.
Fighting between the M23 and DR Congo’s army has intensified since the start of the year, with the rebels seizing control of more territory than ever.
The conflict has already led more than 400,000 people to flee their homes this year, according to the UN.
Local leaders last week said more than 200 civilians had been killed in areas captured by the M23, with hospitals in Goma treating hundreds of patients.
Martin Gordon, an Anglican bishop in Goma, told the BBC fighting in the country had gone on “way too long” and people “will do anything for peace”.
In the past few days, several countries have urged their citizens to leave Goma, including the UK, France, Germany and the US.
Human Rights Watch has warned of escalating risks to civilians as the Congolese army battles the M23 rebels. The humanitarian group has accused both sides of committing grave abuses against civilians.
The UN has warned that the ongoing conflict is worsening the humanitarian crisis in the region.
The M23 has taken control of vast swathes of mineral-rich eastern DR Congo since 2021. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced as a consequence.
DR Congo and the UN say the M23 is backed by Rwanda. The Rwandan authorities have neither confirmed nor denied this.
Rwanda has previously said the authorities in DR Congo were working with some of those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide against ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
The M23 formed as an offshoot of another rebel group in 2012, ostensibly to protect the Tutsi population in the east of DR Congo, which had long complained of persecution and discrimination.
However, Rwanda’s critics accuse it of using the M23 to loot eastern DR Congo’s minerals such as gold, cobalt and tantalum.
The recent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo took a tragic turn as M23 rebels reportedly killed 13 foreign peacekeepers in an attack. The peacekeepers, who were part of a UN mission to stabilize the region, were ambushed by the rebels while on patrol.This senseless act of violence highlights the ongoing challenges faced by peacekeepers in the region, as they work tirelessly to protect civilians and promote peace. The international community must condemn these attacks and work together to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Our thoughts are with the families and colleagues of the fallen peacekeepers, who made the ultimate sacrifice in their pursuit of peace. We stand in solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy and call for an end to the violence in DR Congo. #JusticeForPeacekeepers #EndViolenceInDRCongo
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- M23 rebels
- DR Congo
- Foreign peacekeepers
- Conflict in Africa
- Violence in the Congo
- Rebel attacks
- International peacekeeping
- United Nations mission
- Military intervention in Africa
- Security threats in the Democratic Republic of Congo
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