EO 14169: Reevaluating And Realigning United States Foreign Aid

Executive Orders

TLDR

This executive order freezes U.S. foreign aid for 90 days while programs undergo review. State Department gets more control over aid decisions. All programs must align with presidential foreign policy. Aid can resume earlier if approved by State Secretary after review.

This executive order represents a significant shift in U.S. foreign aid policy, implementing immediate changes to how American foreign assistance is managed and distributed.

The order mandates a 90-day freeze on all new foreign development assistance disbursements and obligations, affecting both governmental and non-governmental programs.

Review process:

  • Department and agency heads must review all foreign assistance programs
  • Reviews will assess programmatic efficiency and alignment with U.S. foreign policy
  • The State Secretary, in consultation with OMB, will provide review guidelines
  • Final determinations must be made within 90 days

The Secretary of State gains significant control over foreign aid, with:

  • Authority to waive the 90-day pause for specific programs
  • Power to approve new foreign assistance programs
  • Required concurrence on program continuations or modifications

The order centralizes foreign aid decision-making under the State Department and OMB, representing a major shift from the previously more distributed system of foreign assistance management.

Programs can resume before the 90-day period ends if:

  • A review is completed
  • The State Secretary approves continuation
  • OMB consultation occurs

The order maintains existing:

  • Executive department authorities
  • OMB functions regarding budgetary matters
  • Legal obligations and appropriations requirements

This pause could significantly impact ongoing development projects and international partnerships, potentially straining diplomatic relationships with aid-recipient nations.

The order creates uncertainty for:

  • Non-governmental organizations
  • International organizations
  • Government contractors
  • Foreign aid recipients

The order explicitly requires all foreign assistance to align with presidential foreign policy, potentially limiting the independence of aid programs and their implementing organizations.

ACTIONS

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.

Purpose.

The United States foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values. They serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries.

Sec. 2.

Policy.

It is the policy of United States that no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States.

Sec. 3.

(a) 90-day pause in United States foreign development assistance for assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy. All department and agency heads with responsibility for United States foreign development assistance programs shall immediately pause new obligations and disbursements of development assistance funds to foreign countries and implementing non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and contractors pending reviews of such programs for programmatic efficiency and consistency with United States foreign policy, to be conducted within 90 days of this order. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shall enforce this pause through its apportionment authority.

(b) Reviews of United States foreign assistance programs. Reviews of each foreign assistance program shall be ordered by the responsible department and agency heads under guidelines provided by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director of OMB.

© Determinations. The responsible department and agency heads, in consultation with the Director of OMB, will make determinations within 90 days of this order on whether to continue, modify, or cease each foreign assistance program based upon the review recommendations, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State.

(d) Resumption of paused development assistance funding. New obligations and disbursements of foreign development assistance funds may resume for a program prior to the end of the 90-day period if a review is conducted, and the Secretary of State or his designee_,_ in consultation with the Director of OMB_,_ decide to continue the program in the same or modified form. Additionally, any other new foreign assistance programs and obligations must be approved by the Secretary of State or his designee, in consultation with the Director of OMB.

(e) Waiver. The Secretary of State may waive the pause in Section 3(a) for specific programs.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

© This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

January 20, 2025.