Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the Trump administration pausing federal aid, attacks on embassies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic stepping down.
Massive Freeze
A sweeping pause on U.S. federal grants, loans, and other financial assistance was set to go into effect at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, but a federal judge in the District of Columbia issued a “brief administrative stay” to halt the order for at least a few days. According to a two-page memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the freeze was intended to limit programs targeted by President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders. But democracy activists and legal experts have argued that the freeze is unconstitutional.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the Trump administration pausing federal aid, attacks on embassies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic stepping down.
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Massive Freeze
A sweeping pause on U.S. federal grants, loans, and other financial assistance was set to go into effect at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, but a federal judge in the District of Columbia issued a “brief administrative stay” to halt the order for at least a few days. According to a two-page memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the freeze was intended to limit programs targeted by President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders. But democracy activists and legal experts have argued that the freeze is unconstitutional.
Specifically, the freeze would implicate foreign aid; diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; “woke gender ideology”; and climate spending, which collectively total billions of government dollars each year. “This is not a blanket pause on federal assistance and grant programs,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Assistance received directly by individuals—such as Medicare, Social Security benefits, food stamps, and federal student loans—would not be impacted.
Details on how vital agencies would be hit, though, remain murky. More than 20 states reportedly could not draw down Medicaid funds from their systems on Tuesday, despite one official telling the Washington Post that the health insurance agency was “not the intended target.” Medicaid cost $618 billion last fiscal year and serviced more than 72 million people. Leavitt said that she was unclear on whether Medicaid benefits would be cut off.
“In the event of a substantial hit to Medicaid funding, millions of people, including many who voted for President Trump, would lose health insurance,” said Nathan Gusdorf, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute.
The National Education Association also denounced the freeze, as schools across the country fear that their Title I funding will be halted and the National Head Start Association, which serves nearly 800,000 low-income children up to age 5 and their families, learns that its agency is among those affected.
On the world stage, foreign partners expressed shock and concern over the White House’s freeze. Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office that paused all U.S. foreign development assistance for 90 days. Tuesday’s memo further targets agencies that conduct global humanitarian work, including the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has been instructed to cancel existing appointments, turn patients away from clinics, and stop disbursing HIV medications even if the drugs are already on site.
The United States is the world’s biggest foreign aid donor. Without Washington’s support, foreign partners “do not know what to do because their lifesaving mission and commitment has been breached,” said Asia Russell, executive director of Health Gap.
Legislators, nonprofits, and activists filed several lawsuits on Tuesday to try to block Trump’s order. Among those include a coalition of attorneys general representing California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. “My office will be taking imminent legal action against this administration’s unconstitutional pause on federal funding,” New York Attorney General Letitia James wrote on social media.
On Tuesday, several nonprofits sued the Trump administration for allegedly violating the Administrative Procedure Act, saying the order gave agencies “barely twenty-four hours’ notice, devoid of any legal basis or the barest rational[e].” Such organizations usually make budget decisions years in advance. Four other progressive groups also filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging the memo, calling it “arbitrary, capricious, [and] an abuse of discretion.”
Today’s Most Read
What We’re Following
War in Goma. Congolese security forces clashed with insurgent groups in the eastern provincial capital of Goma on Tuesday. United Nations authorities reported numerous casualties, overwhelmed hospitals, sexual assaults by fighters, and looting. Around 400,000 people have already fled their homes in eastern Congo as the rebels advance on the trade hub. According to François Moreillon, head of delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Congo, attacks on health facilities could cause disease outbreaks, such as Ebola, that would create a “major public health issue” well beyond the country’s borders.
Protesters have also attacked several embassies in the region—including those of Rwanda, the United States, Belgium, France, Kenya, the Netherlands, and Uganda—citing alleged foreign interference in the region. Congo River Alliance leader Corneille Nangaa has suggested the group’s aim is to oust Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi.
Kinshasa accused Rwandan forces of assisting the rebel groups in Goma; Kigali said its troops were only there to defend themselves against Congolese militias. Congo, the United States, and the United Nations claim that Rwanda backs the insurgencies that are part of the Congolese River Alliance, including M23, a Tutsi-led group.
Public anger. Populist Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic offered his resignation on Tuesday in the face of mass anti-corruption protests. Pressure for his removal centered on the collapse of a concrete roof over a railway station in November 2024 that killed 15 people, which the opposition has pointed to as evidence of government mismanagement.
More than a dozen people, including Serbia’s former transport minister, who stepped down shortly after the incident, have been charged in connection with the deadly collapse. Another cabinet minister and the mayor of Novi Sad, where the incident occurred, have also stepped down. However, one minister has since been released from detention, fueling public concerns that the ruling government is influencing the investigation.
President Aleksandar Vucic convened his cabinet late Tuesday to determine whether he should designate a new prime minister or hold early snap elections. Opposition leaders have insisted on a transitional government to create free and fair elections, citing past alleged voter discrepancies.
Friendlier approach. European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday to begin easing sanctions on Syria to better support the country’s new regime, which ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad last December. The agreed-upon measures include lifting a ban on Syrian oil exports and loosening restrictions on global financial channels. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani welcomed the move as a “positive step,” and the EU expressed hope that the measures will help kick-start the Syrian economy.
But such actions could be reimposed, the EU warned, if Syria’s new regime reverts to old abuses on the civilian population. “While we aim to move fast, the lifting of sanctions can be reversed if wrong steps are taken,” EU foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas said. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp added that specific sanctions on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist militant group that overthrew Assad, will initially remain in place to see how its promises translate into actual governance.
Odds and Ends
Google announced on Monday that it will rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America for users in the United States once the new title is updated with the U.S. Geographic Names Information System. People in Mexico can expect to still see Gulf of Mexico written in small gray font. And for those not in either country, Google will display both names. Meanwhile, The Associated Press dictated last Thursday that reporting style guides will continue using Gulf of Mexico to best adhere to international standards. If you’re confused, you’re in good company.
The post White House Freeze on Federal Grants, Foreign Aid Causes Chaos appeared first on Foreign Policy.
