Trump administration moves to restore some terminated foreign aid programmes, say sources
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The Trump administration on April 8 moved to reinstate at least six recently cancelled US foreign aid programmes, sources say.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
WASHINGTON – The administration of President Donald Trump on April 8 moved to reinstate at least six recently cancelled US foreign aid programmes, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
US Agency for International Development (USAid) acting administrator Jeremy Lewin, who is also an employee of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, asked staff in an internal e-mail to reverse the terminations.
The programmes that he asked to restore were the World Food Programme awards in Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, Jordan, Iraq and Ecuador, five sources familiar with the matter said.
Reuters reported on April 7 that the Trump administration had ended life-saving aid programmes
“Sorry for all the back and forth on awards,” Mr Lewin said in the internal e-mail seen by Reuters.
“There are a lot of stakeholders, and we need to do better about balancing these competing interests – that is my fault and I take responsibility,” he added.
The reversal followed pressure from inside the administration and from Congress, two sources said, and after the UN World Food Programme said the closure of the programmes could be “a death sentence” for millions.
The cuts have been the latest piece of the Trump administration’s drive to dismantle USAid, the main US humanitarian aid agency.
The administration has cancelled billions of dollars in foreign aid since Mr Trump began his second term on Jan 20.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS
