The Executive Order Halting Foreign Assistance—Making America and the World Less Safe, Weaker, and Poorer | Opinion

When President Donald Trump issued his executive order, Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid, on January 20, 2025, it took all of us employed in the international development and humanitarian relief sector several days to truly understand its gravity. The order stated, "The United States foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values." It also said that all foreign assistance would be paused for 90 days while reviewed for alignment with these values. After the order went out, rumors started circulating, but the mood was that of cautious disbelief. They couldn't really pause all foreign assistance, could they? Didn't they understand what that would do—how that would affect us and the people we are trying to serve?

Following Secretary of State Marco Rubio's leaked memo, the clarification that food aid and aid to Israel and Egypt could continue, and the start of an onslaught of Stop Work Orders on projects funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and State Department, we quickly realized that they simply had no idea of the wide-reaching ramifications of this decision. These ramifications cover multiple levels, beginning with Americans and ending with the poorest and most vulnerable, costing jobs, lives, and likely global stability.

At the first level, tens of thousands of Americans who have dedicated our lives to upholding American ideals while helping the world's poorest and most vulnerable are at risk of losing—or have already lost—our jobs. We work for the U.S. government, for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), development contractors, or as independent consultants. This first level includes people based in the U.S. and overseas in some of the world's most challenging contexts—far from family and friends. For many, this work is their life, and they have always put it above all else—even their own health and well-being.

At the next level, tens of thousands of non-Americans are also at risk of losing their jobs. These people are often some of the brightest and most ambitious in their countries, employed by both international and local NGOs in remote locations, with salaries paid by USAID projects. Local organizations are particularly at risk to closing completely, as they typically do not have the systems or reserves in place to weather any cessation of funding. These local people work on the frontlines of crises, regularly putting themselves in harm's way to deliver lifesaving humanitarian assistance, education, health, water, good governance, and agriculture projects so that they might better their countries while helping those less fortunate. These employees often do not have the same easy access to credit that unemployed Americans might use as a stop-gap measure and may have bigger households to support, making the imminent loss of their jobs—and even employers—even more damaging.

And we must not forget the poorest and most vulnerable, who were promised vital assistance by American projects—the more than 20 million people living with HIV/AIDS who are receiving antiretroviral medication, the 63 million people receiving antimalarial medicines and bed nets, and the many millions more supported through other critical assistance programs. Will we ever be able to truly gauge the number of people whose already precarious lives will either end or become even more challenging because of the cessation of American aid?

Across these levels, what will these desperate people do without salaries and this much-needed assistance? While in the U.S., we might consider taking out a second mortgage while desperately searching for jobs in the private sector, overseas, non-Americans affected by this pause might look to whomever is willing to help them, regardless of who that actor might be. Their own governments, who had also been counting on U.S. funding to administer critical, basic social service programs that they could not afford to fund themselves, will be unable to fill the gap. Powerless to deliver on their promises, these governments will lose credibility with their own people, and will consequently lose any trust and faith in the American people—sowing hatred and mistrust for Americans around the world. What a perfect time for Russia and China, who have already made strong inroads into Africa and Latin America, or organized and well-funded terrorist organizations, to step into the vacuum.

Secretary Rubio has outlined three questions that will ostensibly be used to evaluate the trillions of dollars' worth of American foreign assistance projects in the next 90 days: "Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?"

However, by taking away the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Americans and foreigners, threatening the very survival of many, eroding trust and credibility between foreign people and their governments, and eliminating foreign people and their government's ability to trust American promises, the Trump administration itself is endangering its own people, weakening America's global position vis-à-vis opportunistic actors, and is poised to increase unemployment and further destabilize the global economy.

Secretary Rubio and President Trump—no one is debating that the foreign assistance sector needs reform. For the sake of your fellow Americans and millions of people around the globe, I urge you to carry out these reforms in a manner which promotes safety, strength, and prosperity for all.

Emilie J. Greenhalgh is a senior international development consultant and holistic coach with nearly 15 years of experience working in transitional and conflict-prone countries, including Afghanistan, the DRC, and Niger. She holds an MA in international relations and economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and currently resides in Indonesia. You can find her on Instagram at @emilieonthemove.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.