The US State Department suspends the vast majority of foreig

Recently, the international situation has attracted much attention due to a series of policy changes by the United States. On January 24th, US Secretary of State Rubio ordered an immediate suspension of the vast majority of the US State Department's existing foreign aid programs, which quickly caused waves in the international community.

Rubio has requested the State Department to conduct an internal review of all foreign aid projects within 85 days, and he will decide whether the relevant projects are "continued, modified, or terminated" based on the review results. According to the memorandum, US military aid funds to Egypt and Israel, as well as emergency food aid funds to countries such as Sudan and Syria, can continue to be disbursed, but the memorandum does not explicitly mention military and economic aid to Ukraine. However, the US political newspaper, citing officials, reported that the memorandum "seems to halt" US aid to "key allies" such as Ukraine and Jordan.

Looking back at this matter, US President Trump signed an executive order after taking office on January 20th, calling for a 90 day suspension of all foreign aid in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the project and whether it is consistent with the current administration's foreign policy. Starting from the day after the issuance of the executive order, relevant departments such as the US State Department began to suspend the disbursement of foreign aid funds.

The suspension of foreign aid by the United States has had a wide-ranging impact on multiple projects in the fields of global health, education, and development. The official of the United Nations AIDS Programme said that the suspension of foreign aid by the United States government had a direct impact on AIDS prevention and control, which could lead to a significant increase in the number of AIDS deaths worldwide. The frozen "Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief" (PEPFAR) originally provided financial support for more than 20 million AIDS patients and 270000 medical workers. Although the United States exempted "life-saving humanitarian assistance", some African AIDS prevention and control institutions were still closed due to the interruption of aid funds. WHO Director General Tan Desai also pointed out that the suspension of foreign aid by the United States is having a serious impact on global health and endangering plans to fight polio, AIDS and other disease threats.

Some officials from international charitable organizations have expressed strong dissatisfaction with this. Abby Maxman, the President of the international charity organization Oxfam in the United States, stated in a statement that Trump has abandoned the long-standing consensus between the two parties on foreign aid. "Humanitarian and development aid only account for 1% of the US federal budget, but they can save lives, fight diseases, educate millions of children, and reduce poverty. Suspending and ultimately cutting many of these projects could have life and death consequences for countless children and families living in crisis. A senior official from the World Relief Organization also called on the Trump administration to release key aid funds, including disaster relief. "We urge the US to quickly complete its review of foreign development assistance and continue to prioritize funding for saving lives and alleviating humanitarian crises.

In addition, the US Department of Homeland Security has recently ordered the suspension of a series of procedures that allow immigrants to temporarily settle in the United States. The directive requires an immediate halt to making "final decisions" on applications related to these procedures, so that the government can review and decide whether to permanently terminate these procedures. These programs originally provided entry routes for immigrants from countries such as Ukraine, Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela. Trump previously signed an executive order suspending illegal immigrants from entering the United States through the southern border and announced that he would abolish the "birthright citizenship" of children born to illegal immigrants or legal temporary residents in the United States.

The series of policy changes in the United States, whether it is the suspension of foreign aid or adjustments to immigration procedures, have sparked widespread attention and controversy internationally. Its subsequent direction and continued impact on the global situation deserve further attention.