Foreign Aid

US Supreme Court upholds Trump funding freeze on billions in foreign aid

The Supreme Court has extended an order that allows President Donald Trump's administration to keep frozen nearly USD 5 billion in foreign aid, handing him another victory in a dispute over presidential power. The court on Friday acted on the Republican administration's emergency appeal in a case involving billions of dollars in congressionally approved aid. Trump said last month that he would not spend the money, invoking disputed authority that was last used by a president roughly 50 years ago. The Justice Department sought the high court's intervention after US District Judge Amir Ali ruled that Trump's action was likely illegal and that Congress would have to approve the decision to withhold the funding. The federal appeals court in Washington declined to put Ali's ruling on hold, but Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked it on September 9. The full court indefinitely extended Roberts' order. The court has previously cleared the way for the Trump administration to stri

US appeals court blocks Trump from withholding billions in foreign aid

A 2-1 ruling by a three-judge appeals panel on Friday dealt Trump another setback in his effort to block spending of billions in foreign aid already approved by Congress for global programmes

Trump moves to cancel $4.9 bn in foreign aid, clashing with US Congress

US President Donald Trump seeks to cancel $4.9 bn in foreign aid using a 'pocket rescission', bypassing Congress. Lawmakers say the move is illegal under US budget law

Trump blocks $4.9 bn foreign aid with rarely-used rule after 50 years

President Donald Trump has told House Speaker Mike Johnson that he won't be spending USD 4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid, effectively cutting the budget without going through the legislative branch. Trump, who sent a letter to Johnson, R-La., on Thursday, is using what's known as a pocket rescission for the first time in nearly 50 years. That's when a president submits a request to Congress not to spend approved funds toward the end of the fiscal year, so that Congress cannot act on the request in the 45-day timeframe, and the money goes unspent as a result. The fiscal year draws to a close at the end of September. The last pocket recession was in 1977 under then-President Jimmy Carter, and the Trump administration argues that it's a legally permissible tool. But such a move, if standardised by the White House, could effectively bypass Congress on key spending choices and potentially wrest some control over spending from the House and the Senate. The letter ...

Trump Wins Fight to Withhold Billions of Dollars in Foreign Aid

In a 2-1 decision on Wednesday, the appellate panel reversed a Washington federal judge who found that US officials were violating the Constitution's separation of powers principles

Trump's push to reclaim $9 bn in foreign aid, media funds gets Senate nod

President Donald Trump's request to cancel about USD 9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting spending is nearing passage in the Senate, an action that would have a tiny impact on the nation's rising debt but could have major ramifications for future spending fights in Congress. Spending bills generally need bipartisan support to advance in the Senate. But the legislation before the Senate gives Republicans the opportunity to undo some of the previously approved spending without Democratic support. The measure contains Trump's efforts to target the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and roll back some of the humanitarian and economic assistance the US provides internationally. The Trump administration is promising more rescission packages to come if the first effort is successful. Democrats say doing so upends a legislative process that typically requires lawmakers from both parties to work together to fund the nation's priorities. The move to claw back a sliver of federal

Missteps, confusion and 'viral waste': The 14 days that doomed USAID

The rapid dismantling of the global aid agency remains one of the most consequential outcomes of President Trump's efforts to overhaul the federal government

Trump admin admits it cut aid to some UN food programmes by mistake

The State Department said Tuesday that it had rolled back an undisclosed number of sweeping funding cuts to UN World Food Program emergency projects in 14 impoverished countries, saying it had terminated some of the contracts for life-saving aid by mistake. There were a few programs that were cut in other countries that were not meant to be cut, that have been rolled back and put into place, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters. Bruce said she had no immediate information on which countries had U.S. funding for food aid restored after a dayslong cutoff. She gave no explanation for how some contracts came to be canceled in error. The World Food Program didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The Associated Press reported Monday that the Trump administration cut funding to WFP emergency programs helping keep millions alive in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and 11 other countries, many of them struggling with conflict, according to the agency and official

Trump admin slashes 1,600 USAID jobs, places direct hires on leave

A federal judge ruled in favour of placing thousands of USAID workers on leave, dealing a blow to unions alleging the cuts would dismantle the agency

'Deeply concerning': MEA reacts to Trump's claim on $21 mn USAID funding

Relevant departments and agencies are looking into this matter, said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Donald Trump's remarks regarding the '$21 million allocation to India for voter turnout'

Could US aid cuts open opportunities for China to expand global influence?

Experts argue that freezing foreign aid weakens USA's soft power, allowing China to strengthen its influence, especially in Southeast Asian countries

China rights monitor NGOs suspend work, lay off staff after US aid freeze

The groups are key to documenting a years-long crackdown by President Xi Jinping on minorities, rights defenders and lawyers

Federal judge orders US govt to restore funds for foreign aid programmes

The order blocks the Trump administration from canceling foreign aid contracts and awards that were in place before Trump took office on January 20

Starlink got $1 mn from USAID over 4 yrs, now Musk is shutting it down

US President Donald Trump has frozen billions in international aid, leaving USAID-funded projects, including Starlink deployments, in limbo

Budget 2025: Maldives gets more aid from India, but what about Bangladesh?

Union Budget 2025: India's foreign aid drops to Rs 5,483 crore in Budget 2025; Maldives sees a hike to Rs 600 crore, Afghanistan's aid doubles, while Myanmar faces a cut amid ongoing internal turmoil

US allies across regions suffer as Trump brings all foreign aid to a halt

US-funded aid programs around the world have begun firing staff and shutting down or preparing to stop their operations, as the Trump administration's unprecedented freeze on almost all foreign assistance brings their work to a sudden halt. Allies including Ukraine also are struggling to save part of their security funding from the 90-day freeze, ordered by President Donald Trump last week. Trump also just paused federal grants and loans inside the United States. The Trump administration says it ordered the foreign aid pause to give it time to decide which of the thousands of humanitarian, development and security programs will keep getting money from the US. Meantime, US officials ordered the programs to stop spending immediately. Only emergency food programs and military aid to allies Israel and Egypt were exempt. The freeze means schools in Liberia are prepared this week to fire cooks who provide children with lunch. US efforts to aid American businesses abroad and to counter ..

Trump pauses all US foreign aid for 90 days; orders review; NGOs decry move

Donald Trump's directive, which halts all non-military foreign assistance for 90 days pending a review, has sparked widespread concern among humanitarian organisations

US mission in India 'reviewing' foreign aid after Trump's executive order

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reportedly ordered an immediate halt to work on virtually all existing foreign aid programmes pending a review

US suspends most foreign aid: What Trump admin's order means for the world

US foreign aid faces a major overhaul as Secretary of State Marco Rubio suspends most funding, sparing only military aid to Israel and Egypt