The Donald Trump administration is aiming to slash more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) foreign aid contracts, cutting $60 billion in global assistance and drastically reducing U.S. development and humanitarian aid.
The proposed cuts, outlined in an internal memo and federal court filings, would leave few USAID programs intact, sparking legal battles over their survival.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that required the administration to release billions in foreign aid by midnight. The disclosures underscore the administration’s shift away from decades-long U.S. policy that foreign aid fosters stability, strengthens economies, and builds alliances.
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The administration’s memo justified the cuts as eliminating “significant waste from decades of institutional drift” and outlined plans to restructure USAID and the State Department to “use taxpayer dollars wisely to advance American interests.”
President Trump, alongside ally Elon Musk, has aggressively targeted foreign aid in efforts to shrink the federal government. Both argue USAID projects promote a liberal agenda and waste resources.
On January 20, Trump ordered a 90-day review of all foreign assistance programs, immediately freezing funding. This move halted thousands of U.S.-funded projects, with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency spearheading staff reductions through forced leave and terminations.
Vital USAID programs—credited with containing Ebola outbreaks and providing HIV/AIDS treatment to over 20 million people in Africa—remain defunded. Nonprofits owed payments on USAID contracts report rapid, widespread terminations without meaningful review.
A leaked email from a USAID official warned staff, “There are MANY more terminations coming, so please gear up!” Lawyers for affected nonprofits claim the mass cancellations circumvent court orders requiring the administration to resume funding.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, accused the administration of “blowing through Congress and the courts” with a sham review process designed to justify terminating thousands of aid programs.
A coalition of businesses, NGOs, and former officials condemned the move. “The American people deserve transparency about what’s being lost—counterterror, global health, food security, and global competition,” the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition stated.
The State Department confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reviewed and approved the terminations. The administration plans to eliminate 5,800 of 6,200 USAID multiyear contracts, amounting to $54 billion in cuts. Additionally, 4,100 of 9,100 State Department grants will be canceled, reducing expenditures by $4.4 billion.
The State Department memo, first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, cited a federal court order requiring the administration to lift its foreign aid freeze by Wednesday night. In response, USAID and the State Department rapidly terminated vast numbers of contracts.
Following repeated warnings from a federal judge, administration officials announced Wednesday they had begun processing some payments—amounting to only a few million dollars—owed to U.S. and international organizations and businesses. However, District Judge Amir H. Ali’s order to unfreeze billions in aid remains on hold pending a Supreme Court review, as Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily stayed the ruling.
The plaintiffs have until noon Friday to respond, while the administration has filed an emergency appeal in a related case, challenging a lower court’s reinstatement of a federal watchdog agency head President Donald Trump had fired.
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