U.S. workers are starting off the year feeling pretty glum about their job security. Perhaps it’s because waves of layoffs at Meta and across the federal government have been dominating headlines in recent weeks. The release of the second season of the dystopian workplace drama Severance may also be contributing to the fear of getting … [Read more…]
On January 24, 2025, the Secretary of State ordered a pause in all new obligations of foreignassistance funding pending an 85-day review of United States foreign assistance programs.1 TheSecretary additionally ordered contracting and grant officers to issue stop-work orders for allexisting foreign assistance awards.2 As such, all USAID programs were suspended, includingthose with funds already … [Read more…]
A viral claim, spread and amplified by Elon Musk, suggests that only 10 percent of USAID money reaches its intended beneficiaries. This is a wildly incorrect and misleading interpretation of a different statistic—that 10 percent of USAID payments are made directly to organizations in the developing world. The remaining 90 percent includes all the goods … [Read more…]
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress that the US Agency for International Development may be subsumed into the State Department and abolished as a separate agency once his team completes a review of its practices, according to a letter seen by Bloomberg News. Current foreign assistance processes “do not substantially benefit the American people,” … [Read more…]
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.comT&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email [email protected] to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information … [Read more…]
Several federal websites have gone dark in recent days, including USAID’s. Peter Marocco is now overseeing the re-organization of USAID alongside Musk’s DOGE office. Can the Trump administration really dismantle USAID without a peep from Congress? The short answer is no. USAID came into existence on September 4, 1961, when Congress passed the Foreign Assistance … [Read more…]
Memo offers further guidance to ‘stop-work’ directive and how to achieve Trump’s America first policy (see below) ———————— Date/DTG:Jan 24, 2025 / 241600Z JAN 25From:SECSTATE WASHDC Action: ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS COLLECTIVE Immediate E.O: 13526 TAGS: PREL, AID, EAID Subject: Executive Order on Review of Foreign Assistance Programs 1. (U) Consistent with the President’s … [Read more…]