Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies

Memorandums

TLDR

This executive order requires federal agencies to review and align NGO funding with U.S. national interests, giving agency heads broad discretion to determine funding eligibility based on alignment with administration priorities and national interests, potentially affecting thousands of organizations’ federal funding status.

This executive order focuses on restructuring federal funding to NGOs based on alignment with the administration’s national interests.

Funding Review Mandate And Alignment Criteria

The order requires all executive departments and agencies to conduct a comprehensive review of their NGO funding allocations. This represents a significant shift in how federal money will be distributed to non-governmental organizations.

Future NGO funding decisions must align with:

  • United States interests
  • Administration goals and priorities
  • Executive actions
  • Agency head judgment
  • Applicable statutes and regulations

Strategic Implications And Potential Impact

This order effectively creates a new filtering mechanism for NGO funding, potentially affecting thousands of organizations that currently receive federal support. The broad language gives significant discretion to agency heads in determining what constitutes alignment with “United States interests.”

It ma lead to:

  • Funding Uncertainty: Many NGOs may face immediate funding instability as their current grants and contracts come under review
  • Operational Changes: Organizations may need to realign their missions or programs to maintain federal funding eligibility
  • Administrative Burden: Federal agencies will need to develop new evaluation criteria and review processes

The order’s broad language about “undermining national interest” leaves substantial room for interpretation and could potentially be used to defund organizations based on political rather than operational criteria. The lack of specific criteria for determining what constitutes “undermining” national interests creates significant uncertainty in implementation.

Issues

  • Oversight Issues: While the order claims to protect taxpayer interests, it doesn’t establish clear metrics or transparency requirements for determining how “national interest” will be evaluated. This could potentially lead to arbitrary decision-making in funding allocations.
  • Implementation Challenges: The order doesn’t address the practical challenges of reviewing all NGO funding or provide a timeline for implementation, potentially creating administrative bottlenecks and funding delays for legitimate organizations serving crucial public interests.

SUBJECT: Advancing United States Interests When Funding

Nongovernmental Organizations

The United States Government has provided significant taxpayer dollars to Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs), many of which are engaged in actions that actively undermine the security, prosperity, and safety of the American people.

It is the policy of my Administration to stop funding NGOs that undermine the national interest.

I therefore direct the heads of executive departments and agencies (agencies) to review all funding that agencies provide to NGOs.

The heads of agencies shall align future funding decisions with the interests of the United States and with the goals and priorities of my Administration, as expressed in executive actions; as otherwise determined in the judgment of the heads of agencies; and on the basis of applicable authorizing statutes, regulations, and terms.