Trump administration appointees and allies of Elon Musk wanted to use the Treasury’s sensitive payment system to block payments.

When President Trump froze foreign assistance, he argued the drastic step was needed to eliminate waste and block what he derides as “woke” spending. Experts say the suspension has another, far more serious consequence: emboldening authoritarian strongmen.

Since the inauguration, the incoming Administration has imposed spending freezes and stop-work orders on a wide swath of American foreign-aid enterprises. Funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)—which,

President Trump’s pause on aid, and the gutting of the primary aid agency, could jeopardize the health of more than 20 million people worldwide, including 500,000 children, experts say.

Food distribution is being stopped. Health services are being shut down. Lifesaving aid is being tied up, with no way to disburse it. These aren’t warnings of what’s to come, but examples of what aid workers say is the fallout of the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid and the gutting of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

While U.S. taxpayers have long spent just a few bucks each on foreign aid every year, the impact is profound, saving millions of people from hunger, averting the worst of natural disasters such as droughts and flooding, tackling life-threatening diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria, and more.

HIV clinics have closed. Food aid sits in storage. Classrooms have shut down. Every day that the 90-day aid freeze continues, over 1,000 more people will die of malaria.

President Trump’s sweeping spending freeze on U.S. foreign aid has immediate health consequences, writes Gavin Yamey.

Trump's overhaul of U.S. foreign assistance has led to chaos in the aid and development field, leaving hundreds of contractors in a severe financial crunch with some already having to lay off staff and others facing millions of dollars in unpaid invoices.