Politics
Donald Trump administration plans to cut 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts
The Trump administration said 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, putting numbers on its plans to eliminate the majority of U.S. development and humanitarian help abroad.
The cuts detailed by the administration would leave few surviving USAID projects for advocates to try to save in what are ongoing court battles with the administration.
The Trump administration outlined its plans in both an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press and filings in one of those federal lawsuits Wednesday.
The Supreme Court intervened in that case late Wednesday and temporarily blocked a court order requiring the administration to release billions of dollars in foreign aid by midnight.
Wednesday’s disclosures also give an idea of the scale of the administration’s retreat from U.S. aid and development assistance overseas, and from decades of U.S. policy that foreign aid helps U.S. interests by stabilizing other countries and economies and building alliances.
The memo said officials were “clearing significant waste stemming from decades of institutional drift.” More changes are planned in how USAID and the State Department deliver foreign assistance, it said, “to use taxpayer dollars wisely to advance American interests.”
President Donald Trump and ally Elon Musk have hit foreign aid harder and faster than almost any other target in their push to cut the size of the federal government. Both men say USAID projects advance a liberal agenda and are a waste of money.
Trump on Jan. 20 ordered what he said would be a 90-day program-by-program review of which foreign assistance programs deserved to continue, and cut off all foreign assistance funds almost overnight.
The funding freeze has stopped thousands of U.S.-funded programs abroad, and the administration and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency teams have pulled the majority of USAID staff off the job through forced leave and firings.
Widely successful USAID programs credited with containing outbreaks of Ebola and other threats and saving more than 20 million lives in Africa through HIV and AIDS treatment are among those still cut off from agency funds, USAID officials and officials with partner organizations say. Meanwhile, formal notifications of program cancellations are rolling out.
In the federal court filings Wednesday, nonprofits owed money on contracts with USAID describe both Trump political appointees and members of Musk’s teams terminating USAID’s contracts around the world at breakneck speed, without time for any meaningful review, they say.
“‘There are MANY more terminations coming, so please gear up!’” a USAID official wrote staff Monday, in an email quoted by lawyers for the nonprofits in the filings.
The nonprofits, among thousands of contractors, owed billions of dollars in payment since the freeze began, called the en masse contract terminations a maneuver to get around complying with the order to lift the funding freeze temporarily.
So did a Democratic lawmaker.
The administration was attempting to “blow through Congress and the courts by announcing the completion of their sham ‘review’ of foreign aid and the immediate termination of thousands of aid programs all over the world,” said Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
A coalition representing major U.S. and global businesses and nongovernmental organizations and former officials expressed shock at the move. “The American people deserve a transparent accounting of what will be lost — on counterterror, global health, food security, and competition,” the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition said.
The State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had reviewed the terminations.
In all, the Trump administration said it will eliminate 5,800 of 6,200 multiyear USAID contract awards, for a cut of $54 billion. Another 4,100 of 9,100 State Department grants were being eliminated, for a cut of $4.4 billion.
The State Department memo, which was first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, described the administration as spurred by a federal court order that gave officials until the end of the 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.
Trump administration officials — after repeated warnings from the federal judge in the case — also said Wednesday they were finally beginning to send out their first or any payments after more than a month with no known spending. Officials were processing a few million dollars of back payments, officials said, owed to U.S. and international organizations and companies.
But U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali’s order to unfreeze billions of dollars by midnight Wednesday will remain on hold until the Supreme Court has a chance to weigh in more fully, according to the brief order signed by Chief Justice John Roberts.
Ali had ordered the federal government to comply with his decision temporarily blocking a freeze on foreign aid, ruling in a lawsuit filed by nonprofit groups and businesses. An appellate panel refused the administration’s request to intervene before the high court weighed in.
The plaintiffs have until noon Friday to respond, Roberts said.
The administration has filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court in one other case so far, arguing that a lower court was wrong to reinstate the head of a federal watchdog agency after Trump fired him.
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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
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Republican lawmakers are backing bills that aim to streamline and support the growth of apprenticeship programs to address workforce needs in Florida.
St. Petersburg Republican Sen. Nick DiCeglie and Naples Republican Rep. Lauren Melo filed the new measures (SB 1458, HB 681). The bills would create and amend several Florida statutes and would establish a transparent and fair funding framework for registered apprenticeship programs, pre-apprenticeship programs, career and technical education, and workforce development.
This framework aims to ease collaboration among all participants, including trainees, employers, local educational agencies, educational institutions and programs, associations, related technical instruction providers, sponsors and other qualifying entities.
Lawmakers are further aiming to simplify funding allocation, improve program accessibility and promote adaptable program expansion to address the state’s workforce needs, as well as empower Florida residents to pursue high-paying careers which would bolster the state’s economic growth.
Israel Silva, the Southeast Region Training Manager for MasTec Utility Services wrote in a recent op-ed published by Florida Politics that apprenticeships are crucial for keeping communities strong and resilient.
“For Floridians who want to build something tangible and lasting, apprenticeships offer a pathway to meaningful careers without the burden of student debt,” Silva said. “These programs combine hands-on training with technical education, allowing participants to earn a paycheck while developing the skills they need to succeed. Apprenticeships provide real-world experience from day one, equipping workers with the knowledge and ability to adapt to challenges.”
According to the bills, programs would receive funding based on student enrollment, while one Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) would represent 900 instructional hours. Different weighted funding rates would apply to on-the-job training hours and related technical instruction hours and would be adjusted annually based on economic indicators.
Additional funding could be provided for programs who are serving high-demand occupations. Programs would further be able to choose to partner with a local education agency or receive funding directly from the Florida Department of Education (FDOE). Local educational agencies would be restricted from imposing additional fees or withhold additional funds beyond an agreed upon amount.
FDOE would be responsible for creating standard contracts and issue voluntary guidelines to encourage program expansion, particularly in high-demand occupations. However, the program would need to establish enrollment limits and submit annual reports to FDOE.
Collaboration with workforce development partners would be required, including CareerSource Florida, to align programs with broader economic and labor goals. The funding formula would be used for programs beginning in Fiscal Year 2026-27, while the State Board of Education would adopt rules to implement the funding formula.
If passed, the bill would come into effect July 1.
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