A 90-Day Pause: President Trump's Executive Orders on U.S. Foreign Aid

Our Statement on President Trump's Executive Orders related to U.S. Foreign Assistance and Global Development Spending

Dear Unlock Aid community,

Yesterday, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. In the last 24 hours, President Trump signed a number of executive orders relevant to U.S. foreign affairs agencies and U.S. global development spending, as is customary for new presidents to do in the early days and hours of when they first take office.

Multiple executive orders relate to U.S. global development spending. One in particular calls for a pause on all new U.S. global development assistance disbursements for 90 days pending further review by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget and the State Department. Another calls for the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization. See below this statement for a full list of orders relevant to U.S. global development spending.

Make no mistake about it: Investments in global development are vital as they serve U.S. national and economic security needs.

Investments that promote sustainable economic growth create new markets for American businesses, for example. Strategic investments in Central America reduce migration pressures on America's southern border. Investments in global health abroad reduce the risks of infectious disease outbreaks at home, disruptions in global supply chains, and global economic shocks.

Pausing obligations and disbursements for essential programs puts investments like these at risk, undermines trust in the United States as a reliable partner, and weakens U.S. national and economic security.

In the days, weeks, and months ahead, we’ll be working with our coalition partners, Members of Congress, and incoming Trump Administration officials to ensure that funding for essential programs can continue. We will also push the Trump Administration to focus on reforming the WHO rather than withdrawing from it.

That said, Unlock Aid and its partners have also clamored for reforms to transform the way the United States invests approximately $60B every year to solve global challenges, especially to:

• Increase the share of our investments that promote sustainable economic growth;

• More effectively leverage technology and innovation to solve global challenges; and

• Increase the overall impact, sustainability, and cost effectiveness of U.S. investments.

In 2023, we went on a 6-month listening tour, where we spoke with hundreds of communities in the United States and around the world to ask what new 21st century U.S. global development investment models should look like. We spoke with representatives from diaspora, technology, investing, business, faith, and national security communities, as well as many other constituencies. We’ve built a domestic base of political support that understands how a more modern U.S. approach to investing abroad can advance U.S. national security and economic goals, promote prosperity, and position the United States as a partner of first resort for countries and communities around the world.

It is in that spirit, therefore, that we also see this 90-day review period created by the executive order as a unique window of opportunity to push for long-overdue changes.

As we start to engage the new Trump Administration and U.S. Congress, especially during these first 100 days, we’ll be sharing recommendations with incoming officials on ways to transform the future of U.S. global development spending. Read our 10 recommendations for the new Trump Administration, or review model legislation for the new U.S. Congress to introduce, which we developed as a result of our 6-month listening tour, to see what we’ll be proposing.

This is the moment to push for big changes. We’ll need your help.

As we prepare for what’s ahead, here’s how you can plug in:

• If you’re a social innovator that is presently receiving U.S. government funding for an extraordinarily impactful program: Please get in touch with us by responding to this email or emailing us at policy [at] unlockaid.org. We need compelling stories to share with officials about the impact and importance of U.S. global development spending. Now is when coalitions matter the most – so that we can speak on behalf of the community about the change we need.

• If you’re a philanthropist or an investor: If any of your portfolio organizations receive U.S. government funding, including via the State Department, USAID, DFC, MCC, or another U.S. foreign affairs agency, or via a large prime contractor or international NGO that acts as an intermediary, that funding may be at risk, especially during the next 90-day pause. You should contact your portfolio organizations today to ask if they need bridge funding to sustain operations ‌over the next few months‌.

• If you’re a government official responsible for managing a highly-effective U.S. development program: Please reach out to us and let us know. As with the social innovators in our community, we want to highlight superlative programs for incoming Trump Administration officials and Members of Congress.

• If you’re an incoming political appointee, Member of Congress, or staff member: Please get in touch. We’ve developed this list of ideas for the new Trump Administration and this proposal for Congress, but we also want to learn more about your goals to explore how they may align.

• No matter who you are in the global development ecosystem, if you care about these issues: Take a look at our recommendations for the new Trump Administration and for Congress and let us know what we missed.

There is no question this moment creates a period of significant uncertainty and risk for the future of U.S. global development spending. However, we also have a brief window of time where we can try to shape the future.

We’ll need your help. Get involved today.

To progress,
Unlock Aid

Below is the full list of executive orders that will have an impact on U.S. global development spending:

• This EO creates the Department of Government Efficiency;

• This EO orders the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization;

• This EO establishes a 90-day pause of all new U.S. global development assistance obligations and disbursements pending a full review;

• This EO directs the U.S. State Department to align all programs with an America First agenda;

• This EO that reconstitutes the National Security Council however removes the USAID Administrator as one of its members;

• This EO appoints acting cabinet and cabinet-level positions, including by naming Jason Gray as acting USAID Administrator.