Trump Administration Demands Justification from Defunded Aid Programs Amid Foreign Assistance Reassessment

In a significant shift of foreign aid strategy, the Trump administration has ended numerous contracts and requested remaining programs to document their effectiveness. However, many organizations now struggle to respond due to staff layoffs and funding freezes.

Last week, in a controversial move, the Trump administration terminated the majority of the United States' foreign aid contracts, asserting that the programs were not aligned with national interests. Just days later, many of these cut programs found themselves on receiving end of a questionnaire titled “Foreign Assistance Review,” compelling them to outline their accomplishments and relevance to U.S. interests.

The survey's distribution comes amid an already tumultuous period for the aid community, which has been facing investigations and funding halts resulting from the administration's sweeping review policies. Deadlines for the survey submissions range from March 7 to March 17, but many aid organizations have already dismissed their staff due to the paralysis in funding initiated by the administration in January.

With an executive order freezing aid, the delivery of essential services like medical treatment and food assistance has been interrupted. While certain organizations had initially been granted waivers to continue operations, the reevaluation and the resulting terminations of over 5,000 aid programs amid comprehensive budget cuts have led to confusion. Some projects were told they would be restored only under specific conditions, while others remain waiting for funds that have yet to be released.

As a consequence, many aid organizations are left with minimal or no personnel available to fill out the requested surveys, leaving their futures uncertain. The ongoing situation highlights a chaotic reassessment of U.S. foreign assistance policy that has thrown many organizations into disarray, impacting global aid efforts.