Donald Trump Administration Slashes 90% Of USAID Foreign Aid Contracts

The Trump administration on Wednesday announced major cuts to foreign aid, slashing over 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts and reducing overall U.S. global assistance by $60 billion, The Associated Press reported.

These cuts, detailed in an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press and court filings, mark a dramatic shift from decades of U.S. policy that viewed foreign aid as a tool for stabilizing countries, building alliances, and advancing U.S. interests.

President Donald Trump and ally Elon Musk have aggressively targeted foreign aid as part of their broader effort to shrink the federal government. Both have criticized USAID projects as wasteful and aligned with a liberal agenda. On January 20, Trump ordered a 90-day review of foreign assistance programs, abruptly freezing funding and halting thousands of U.S.-funded initiatives worldwide. This freeze, coupled with forced leave and firings of USAID staff, has disrupted operations significantly.

Nonprofits involved in federal lawsuits against the administration claim that Trump appointees and Musk's efficiency teams have been terminating USAID contracts at an unprecedented pace, often without proper review. An email from a USAID official, cited by nonprofit lawyers, warned of more terminations to come, urging staff to prepare.

The State Department confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio reviewed the terminations. Overall, the administration plans to cut 5,800 of 6,200 multiyear USAID contracts, totalling $54 billion. In addition to it, the administration has done away with 4,100 of 9,100 State Department grants, amounting $4.4 billion.

The cuts were reportedly accelerated by a federal court order requiring the administration to lift its monthlong freeze on foreign aid funding by Wednesday. In response, the State Department and USAID moved swiftly to terminate numerous contracts. Nonprofits and contractors, owed billions since the freeze began, argue that the mass terminations are a tactic to circumvent the court's order.

Despite repeated warnings from the federal judge overseeing the case, Trump administration officials stated they had begun paying some USAID bills again, releasing a small portion of the billions owed. The Washington Free Beacon first reported on the internal memo detailing these actions.