Trump administration memo tells USAID to put "America First" in reviewing foreign aid

The Trump administration urged U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) workers to join the effort to transform how Washington allocates aid around the world in line with Trump’s “America First” policy. It threatened "disciplinary action" for any staff ignoring the administration's orders, Reuters reports. 

A sharply-worded memo sent on Saturday to more than 10,000 staff at USAID offered further guidance to Friday’s “stop-work” directive that effectively put a sweeping freeze on U.S. foreign aid worldwide. The memo, reviewed by Reuters, laid out expectations for the workforce on how to achieve Trump’s goals.

"We have a responsibility to support the President in achieving his vision," Ken Jackson, assistant to the administrator for management and resources wrote in the internal memo, titled “Message and Expectation to the Workforce.”

"The President has given us a tremendous opportunity to transform the way we approach foreign assistance for decades to come," the memo said. Reuters confirmed the authenticity of the memo with several sources.

Hours after taking office, Trump ordered a 90-day pause in foreign aid to review if it was aligned with his foreign policy priorities. On Friday, the State Department issued a stop-work order worldwide even for existing and appropriated assistance. 

The pause on foreign aid spending means “a complete halt,” it said. The only exceptions are for emergency humanitarian food assistance and for government officials returning to their duty stations. Waivers allowing delivery of emergency food during the review period will require “detailed information and justification.”

The memo said further waivers would require two layers of approval – one from USAID leadership and another by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"Any waiver must be thoroughly justified to demonstrate that the specific assistance for which the waiver is sought is necessary for lifesaving purposes, cannot be performed by current U.S. direct hire staff, or would otherwise pose significant risks to national security," the memo said.

All foreign assistance programs will undergo “comprehensive review” during the pause in spending, the memo says. “It is important to emphasize that it is no longer business as usual. Every program will be thoroughly scrutinized.”

Saturday’s directive also banned any communications outside the agency, including between USAID and the State Department, unless they are approved by the former’s front office.

"Failure to abide by this directive, or any of the directives sent out earlier this week and in the coming weeks, will result in disciplinary action," it said.

USAID began sending a notice to contractors ordering them to “immediately issue stop-work orders” and to “amend, or suspend existing awards.”