The administration of US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday it is terminating more than 90% of the US Agency for International Development’s foreign aid awards, according to a court filing, UNN reports citing CNN.
Details
"In total, nearly 5,800 USAID awards were terminated, and more than 500 USAID awards were retained," the filing from the administration said."The total ceiling value of the retained awards is approximately $57 billion," the filing said.
In addition to the USAID award terminations, "approximately 4,100 State awards were terminated, and approximately 2,700 State awards were retained," according to the filing.
The administration clarified in a filing later Wednesday that "there are still 297 contracts that need to be reviewed."
A significant reduction in foreign aid is hitting nonprofit organizations and contractors. Assistance programs around the world have been suspended due to a complete funding freeze and the reconsideration of billions of dollars in aid.
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This comes at a time when the Trump administration has furloughed or fired most USAID employees.
The updates from the Trump administration were filed in response to a lawsuit challenging the general suspension of foreign aid.
According to a filing, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday had "made a final decision with respect to each award, on an individualized basis, affirmatively electing to either retain the award or terminate it pursuant to the terms of the instrument or independent legal authority as inconsistent with the national interests and foreign policy of the United States."
However, on Wednesday, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit rejected the claim that Rubio personally reviewed all the decisions to terminate aid, arguing that "one person or even a group of people could not knowingly review all these contracts and grants in such a short period of time.
