by Adam Kredo at The Washington Free Beacon
President Donald Trump’s State Department completed its review of U.S. foreign aid, identifying nearly 15,000 grants worth $60 billion for elimination, an internal memo reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon shows.
The review pertained to foreign aid that flowed from both the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Within the State Department, auditors reviewed more than 9,100 grants worth an estimated $15.9 billion. It identified 4,100 of those grants worth $4.4 billion for elimination.
The lion’s share of the grants identified for elimination, then, came from the USAID side, where Trump administration officials moved to slash 5,800 grants valued at $54 billion. That marks a 92 percent reduction in USAID’s multi-year grant spending, according to the State Department memo.
The “exhaustive review” reflects the monumental changes underway at USAID under Trump.
In late January, Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled a 90-day freeze on foreign aid aimed at allowing the administration to review programs for their consistency with “U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda.” Under former president Joe Biden, USAID funneled scores of grants to foreign nations aimed at advancing “environmental justice” and “LGBTQI+ Inclusive Development,” among other left-wing priorities. Trump went on to name Rubio USAID’s acting administrator as he explored formally placing the agency within the State Department.
The fate of the agency—as well as the funding cuts…
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