President Donald Trump has placed a freeze on U.S.-funded foreign aid and development worldwide.
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AmapfromtheU.S.AgencyforInternationalDevelopment(USAID)showswhichcountriesreceivethemostforeignassistancefromtheU.S.
USAIDdisbursed$72billioninfiscalyear2023,themostrecentfullyearforwhichinformationisavailable.Themostaid—morethan$16billion—wassenttoUkrainethatyear.
WhyItMattersTheU.S.isbyfartheworld’slargestproviderofhumanitarianaid,withUSAIDadministeringbillionsofdollarsinhumanitarian,development,andsecurityassistanceinmorethan100countries.
TheU.S.spendslessthan1percentofitsbudgetonforeignassistance,asmallershareoverallthansomeothercountries.
Nevertheless,USAIDhasbeenoneofthefederalagenciestargetedbyPresidentDonaldTrump’sadministrationinacrackdownonthefederalgovernmentanditsprograms.BillionaireElonMusk,whoisleadingTrump’sefforttoslashfederalspendingandprograms,hassaidUSAIDwillbeshutdown.However,congressionalDemocratshavesaidpresidentscannoteliminatecongressionallyappropriate
