In his first week in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order pausing all federal funding for foreign aid for 90 days. The order, “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” is expected to have detrimental effects on health, safety, and essential services in communities worldwide.
Following this order, Trump and Elon Musk have dismissed around 60 senior staff members at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the agency traditionally responsible for administering the aid that Trump has frozen. They were placed on leave due to accusations of attempting to circumvent the executive order. When asked about these drastic changes, Trump told reporters, “It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we’re getting them out, and then we’ll make a decision.”
When the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), run by Musk, attempted to gain access to systems at the agency, top security officials refused to grant entry, even after threats to call the police were made. Those officials have also since been placed on administrative leave. The USAID building has been closed to all other staff with the doors being blocked by yellow “Do Not Enter” Tape and security guards.
USAID was established in 1961 to provide humanitarian aid to countries in need on behalf of the American government. Its core responsibilities include providing food aid to communities facing starvation, predicting and detecting famines before they escalate, and delivering life-saving medical care in crisis-stricken regions.
Trump has long criticized USAID as a misuse of taxpayer dollars, later singling out LGBTQ initiatives and environmental programs as examples of “waste and abuse.” This led to his decision to pause all international funding for 90 days. While a waiver was eventually granted for some humanitarian programs, many organizations were forced to halt critical operations during the freeze.
This has broader implications for women’s health and family planning initiatives. For almost a decade, Congress has routinely appropriated $607.5 million annually in foreign aid for family planning. This funding was set to provide contraception for 47.6 million women and girls around the world in 2025. On average 120,390 women get contraceptive care each day under US-funded programs. Contraception and family planning is an important form of healthcare for women in underrepresented and marginalized communities, providing women with autonomy over their bodies and opens doors for societal and economic mobility. So, after the 90-day ban is complete, 11.7 million women and girls will have been denied this essential care.
In Gaza, where humanitarian efforts have already been dire, Palestinians will lose even more funding. Aid was blocked days after Israel banned the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees. In the wake of these recent decisions, many field hospitals, front-line care, and essential medical workers are forced to close and stop supplying aid within the next week.
“These facilities provide 24/7 lifesaving medical care to roughly 33,000 civilians per month, in a highly dangerous and insecure environment where healthcare infrastructure has been decimated,” the International Medical Corps said in a statement late last month. However, The IMC has updated its website to state that the U.S. government has provided funding to cover hospital services through at least mid-April. The current ceasefire underway in Gaza is fragile, and aid organizations need all the help they can get during this time to lessen the impacts of this war.
Beyond its humanitarian impact, Trump’s order also weakens America’s global influence. U.S. foreign aid is not just charity, it is a strategic tool that helps the country maintain global leadership. Scaling back aid creates a power vacuum, allowing China and Russia to expand their influence in regions where the U.S. once held sway.
Overall, this order will isolate the U.S. from its allies and will give Russia and China a geopolitical advantage, further justifying the GOP’s push for increased military spending. But most importantly, it will leave countless people without access to healthcare, food, and clean drinking water, creating and furthering global humanitarian crises.
