United States-funded aid efforts have largely come to a halt worldwide, despite claims by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the U.S. would continue to provide humanitarian aid, multiple sources said on Saturday.
Rubio said earlier this week that he had issued a waiver allowing life-saving U.S. humanitarian aid to proceed during a 90-day review of U.S. foreign aid efforts.
However, several staff and contractors of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have said that this does not reflect the situation on the ground, with almost all USAID humanitarian aid projects currently at a standstill, China Media Group (CMG) reported, citing the sources.
Just hours after taking office on January 20, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the 90-day pause to review U.S. foreign aid contributions to see if they align with his "America First" foreign policy.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social on Friday, accused USAID of corruption and fraudulent spending and called for it to be closed down.
USAID is the U.S. federal government's agency responsible for most non-military foreign aid, operating under the guidance of the U.S. State Department. It has recently become a key target for restructuring by the Trump administration, with Rubio appointed as the agency's acting head to oversee the reforms.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration ordered that most of USAID's global employees be placed on "administrative leave" starting on February 7, with only a few designated personnel exempted. Meanwhile, USAID staff stationed abroad were instructed to return to the U.S. within 30 days.
Reports from U.S. media suggest that the administration aims to reduce USAID's global workforce from over 10,000 employees to fewer than 300, representing a 97 percent reduction.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington D.C. said he would pause plans to place 2,200 USAID employees on leave as part of a temporary, "limited" order blocking the Trump administration from taking certain steps to dismantle the agency. These temporary orders are effective until February 14.
According to data from relevant U.S. congressional agencies, USAID has a global workforce of over 10,000 employees, with two thirds working overseas. U.S. media have reported that for a long time, USAID has funded activities that interfere in the internal affairs of other countries under the guise of foreign aid.