According to an internal State Department note, the new US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has frozen US foreign aid while reviewing all programs. 

Emergency food aid is also excluded, but the text avoids mentioning Ukraine, which received billions of dollars from the previous administration of Joe Biden to defend itself against Russia.

The document is based on an executive order signed by incoming President Donald Trump on Monday, hours after his inauguration, ordering a 90-day freeze on US foreign aid.

Israel and Egypt are among the countries that receive the most US military aid.

In the internal document, the new Secretary of State states that it is impossible for the new administration to assess whether all aid commitments are duplicative, effective, and compliant with President Trump’s foreign policy.

The latter said in his order Monday that the US foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and, in many cases, are opposed to American values.

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Despite allegations of sexual assault, excessive drinking, and a lack of experience, Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defence, narrowly received approval from the US Senate on Friday.

According to the US Constitution, the Senate must vote to confirm the appointments of ministers and other senior officials.

However, Vice President Jay De Vance, in a rare move, broke the tie and approved his nomination despite a 53-seat Republican majority in the 100-seat US upper house.

Among the three executives of the president’s faction who opposed Mitch McConnell, the former head of the Republican caucus in that house of Congress, was included. 

Lisa Merkawski, who also opposed it, clarified that the appointment of the former major general and later Fox News anchor sparked significant concerns that she could not ignore. She spoke in particular against Pete Hegseth’s publicly expressed opposition to the presence of women in combat units. 

The new Secretary of Defence has been known to Americans in recent years as the host of the television network preferred by the American right in the US. In his 44th year, he will be tasked with handling a pharaonic budget of $850 billion a year and three million military, reserve, and civilian employees.

His main mission, as he said in mid-January during his confirmation hearing, is to bring a warrior culture back to the Pentagon.

Pete Hegseth has consistently expressed his intention to overhaul the Ministry of Defence, arguing that it has become excessively “woke” and has adopted a leftist ideology.

With information from: AMNA, AFP

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