CNN
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Officials inside and outside of the US government are grappling with the fallout of the Trump administration’s sudden suspension of almost all foreign aid with some humanitarian officials warning that people will die as a result.
The sweeping directive from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to pause nearly all US aid has brought scores of programs – from global health to emergency shelter to countertrafficking – to a halt.
The “unprecedented” scale of the directive has left aid organizations scrambling as they struggle to get clear answers from the US government, more than half a dozen humanitarian officials told CNN.
The freeze on foreign aid was outlined in a diplomatic cable from Rubio on Friday. That cable called for immediate stop work orders on existing efforts, a suspension of the disbursement of funds, and a hold on future projects, pending a review. It only specifically outlined emergency food assistance and foreign military financing for Israel and Egypt as exemptions. CNN has asked the State Department if any additional waivers have been granted. It is unclear if the temporary block of the White House’s broader attempted freeze on federal aid impacts the freeze on foreign assistance.
The impact of the aid freeze is already being felt and could have catastrophic implications, humanitarian officials said. One predicted that even if the suspension continues for two more weeks, thousands could die. And the freeze, if continued, could cause a huge number of organizations doing the work to close permanently, as they are not receiving the funding to keep their employees. It would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to close their offices.
Although officials have attempted to get answers through lawmakers and others, they said they have been met with silence or conflicting answers. Many US officials, they said, now fear retribution from Trump administration officials if they are seen as questioning or attempting to evade the halt. On Monday, nearly 60 USAID senior staff were put on sudden paid leave, with the agency acting head telling staff they “identified several actions within USAID that appeared designed to circumvent the President’s Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people.”
In Gaza, where a tenuous ceasefire is holding, officials said the freeze almost certainly means that the 600 aid trucks entering the enclave daily, as specified in the agreement, will not be able to reach those in need. One official said their organization has trucks sitting at the border and inside Gaza, but they do not know if their staff is permitted to deliver the assistance on those trucks.
Another official said Tuesday that they have had to temporarily suspend work to provide tens of thousands of Gazans with hygiene kits, emergency shelters, and water system rehabilitation and water trucking – because even though emergency food assistance has a specific waiver, as of Tuesday, water does not.
“Everything for water is suspended. Everything for shelter is suspended,” they told CNN.
Another humanitarian official told CNN that because of the stop work orders, their organization cannot distribute vaccines that they already have in stock to treat diseases like malaria.
They’ve also had to suspend nutrition programs, along with their work to treat HIV/AIDS and to provide maternal and child health care.
“The impact is that people aren’t getting treatment, they’re not getting care,” they said.
The freeze goes beyond just humanitarian and public health services. It has frozen funding used to clear landmines and to train partners on countering the trade of illicit narcotics and human trafficking. It has stopped assistance to allies such as Ukraine and Taiwan.
Humanitarian officials noted that the administration could have reviewed existing projects without putting a stop to the work.
“That’s the most troubling part, it’s being implemented in a way that that is putting people’s lives at risk in and it didn’t have to be,” one said.
They also noted the freeze flies in the face of Rubio’s stated priorities of making the US safer and more prosperous.
“From an economic perspective, from a national security perspective, from humanitarian perspective, this is making America less safe, less prosperous and less secure,” one official said.
Some said that it has already created the perception among communities that the US cannot be trusted to keep its commitments. Others have noted that without the US’ presence, other countries or groups will look to step into that vacuum.