The Trump administration has banned funding for all projects under USAID and other agencies, including military aid.

 Emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt have been exempted from the ban. With the announcement, Washington has indirectly isolated the United States from the military alliance "NATO" and its European allies. Experts

Saturday, January 25, 2025

Washington (Point News Today- 25 January 2025) The US State Department has imposed a complete ban on new funding for all US-funded projects abroad under USAID and other agencies, including military aid, but exempts emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt.

According to the US broadcaster, the order has put billions of dollars in US-funded projects around the world at immediate risk. Experts say the Trump administration has indirectly isolated the US from the military alliance “NATO” and its European allies, for which funding has been stopped, including health, education, development, job training, anti-corruption measures, security assistance and other efforts.

The report said the United States provides more foreign aid than any other country worldwide, allocating nearly $60 billion in 2023, or one percent of the U.S. budget. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s order, which was sent to U.S. embassies around the world, specifically exempts emergency food programs, including those that have been feeding millions of people during a looming famine in war-torn Sudan.

The instructions sent to embassies provide details on how to implement the executive order freezing aid, which President Donald Trump signed on Monday. The order has particularly frustrated humanitarian officials because it does not include specific exemptions for life-saving health programs such as clinics and immunization programs.

The President's Emergency Relief Plan for AIDS Relief, a globally recognized HIV program, is among the programs whose funding has been frozen. The freeze will last at least three months. The President's Emergency Relief Plan for AIDS Relief, a program credited with saving 25 million lives, was launched under Republican President George W. Bush.

Aid programs began receiving the first orders to halt their work under the freeze yesterday. A former USAID official told the broadcaster, speaking on condition of anonymity, that some major aid organizations are viewing the order as an immediate halt to U.S.-funded global aid efforts. The official said many organizations would likely shut down immediately to avoid further costs.

According to the French broadcaster, US President Donald Trump's administration on Friday instructed federal agencies to begin laying off employees working in positions related to diversity programs. Previously, such employees were sent on paid leave earlier this week. The process of eliminating jobs that work against issues such as racial discrimination and gender bias is the latest in a series of right-wing policies since the 78-year-old Republican president returned to the White House.

A note from the US Office of Personnel Management said that the head of each agency, department or commission should take steps to eliminate diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, race, gender and religion and environmental justice offices and positions within 60 days to the maximum extent permitted by law. Earlier this week, Trump ordered the heads of government agencies to submit a written plan to reduce the number of employees in diversity, equity and inclusion offices by the end of business hours on Friday, although the reference to environmental justice appears to be a new addition.

The Environmental Protection Agency says it is committed to the fair treatment and meaningful participation of all individuals, regardless of income, race, color, national origin, tribal affiliation, or disability, especially in agency decisions and other federal activities that affect human health and the environment. During last year’s presidential campaign, Trump criticized diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in the federal government and the corporate world, saying they discriminated against white people, especially men.

He has also opposed the recognition of gender diversity and has strongly attacked the treatment of transgender people, particularly women and children in sports, including gender-affirming ones. Trump has already eliminated what he calls radical affirmative action in federal contracting. He rescinded an order that had been in place since the 1960s civil rights era to combat racism.

He has also promised to end policies that support transgender people. He has insisted that the United States will officially recognize only two genders. His first orders included asking the heads of federal departments and agencies to ask employees if they were aware of any efforts to hide diversity, equity, and inclusion programs through ambiguous language codewords.

The British agency reported, citing US media, that the Trump administration fired independent inspectors general from more than a dozen key government agencies late Friday night. The Washington Post reported, citing unnamed sources, that these agencies include the departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, and Energy. According to the New York Times, the dismissals affected 17 agencies, but Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz was exempted from the decision. According to the Washington Post, the dismissals “appear to violate a federal law that requires Congress to give 30 days’ notice of its intention to fire inspectors general.” The White House did not immediately comment on the reports. The inspector general in the United States is an independent position that investigates, investigates and audits allegations of waste, fraud and corruption. He or she can be removed by the president or the head of the relevant agency. The removal depends on who nominated or appointed him. The Washington Post added that most of the people who were fired were appointed during Trump's first term from 2017 to 2021. The people were notified by email from the White House personnel director that they had been fired immediately.