By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration says it is eliminating more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance around the world, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press.
It details the outcome of a 90-day review ordered by President Donald Trump of all the money provided by USAID and the State Department for development and aid work overseas.
The move leaves few surviving USAID projects for advocates to try to save in what are ongoing court battles. The Trump administration outlined its plans in both the memo and court filings Wednesday.
The Washington Free Beacon was the first to report the cuts.
The memo described the administration as spurred by a court order that gave officials until the end of day Wednesday to lift the Trump administration’s monthlong block on foreign aid funding.
“In response, State and USAID moved rapidly,” targeting USAID and State Department foreign aid programs in vast numbers for contract terminations, the memo said.