Trump’s Executive Order Halts Foreign Aid Programs, Sparks Global Uncertainty and Potential Power Shift

On January 20th, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order halting most foreign development assistance programs. This executive order comes as the Trump administration aims to shift foreign interaction towards an “America First” agenda, highlighting that much of the foreign aid dispersed to countries goes towards initiatives that do not directly benefit the United States.

In 2023, the United States was the largest donor of humanitarian aid at around 9.5 billion dollars, almost 7.5 billion dollars more than the European Commission, the second largest donor. Aside from continued military and food assistance to Israel and Egypt, programs providing crucial aid to many countries have been halted for a 90-day review period. This abrupt suspension has induced panic in people and organizations domestically and globally.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the largest U.S. government entity for development work, has been hit hard. Within a week of the order, roughly 400 internal contractors were laid off at USAID because of the stop-work order. It is expected that more employees at USAID and contracted agencies will be furloughed.

Many countries who receive assistance from U.S. government funding are scrambling to find ways to compensate for this new gap. Michael Schiffer, a former USAID assistant administrator, wrote in an article that without USAID, “Children will die. Our national security will erode. America’s alliances will suffer. U.S. partners will be at risk. And America’s enemies will rejoice.” 

Effects of the stop-work order have already impacted Al-Hol, a Syrian displacement camp housing mostly women and children. Security, water, and sanitation efforts in the displacement camp have been paused and the threat of instability and violence is high. This cause and effect is not specific to Al-Hol with the threat of violence in displacement camps expected to grow.

Ending foreign development assistance programs will have drastic effects, leaving other world powers, such as China, an opportunity to create alliances with countries who once worked closely with the United States.