Trump administration tells USAID to put "America First" in reviewing foreign aid

27/1/2025 11:20

The Trump administration urged U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) workers to join the effort to transform how Washington allocates aid

around the world in line with Trump’s “America First” policy. It threatened "disciplinary action" for any staff ignoring the administration's orders.



A sharply-worded memo sent on Saturday to more than 10,000 staff at USAID offered further guidance to Friday’s “stop-work” directive that effectively put a sweeping freeze on U.S. foreign aid worldwide. The memo, reviewed by Reuters, laid out expectations for the workforce on how to achieve Trump’s goals.

"We have a responsibility to support the President in achieving his vision," Ken Jackson, assistant to the administrator for management and resources wrote in the internal memo, titled “Message and Expectation to the Workforce.”



"The President has given us a tremendous opportunity to transform the way we approach foreign assistance for decades to come," the memo said. Reuters confirmed the authenticity of the memo with several sources.