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State Department says research data on Ukrainian children was not deleted after funding cut; grant review cited
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Summary
The spokesperson said the administration reviewed foreign-aid funding and cut certain grants; she denied reports that data collected by a research initiative (described by reporters as connected to an academic project) had been deleted and said the data is not missing.
The State Department confirmed it reviewed and cut some foreign-aid-funded programs and denied that data collected on missing and abducted Ukrainian children had been deleted.
During questions, reporters cited a research initiative (reported as a grant at Yale University) that had been terminated and described fears that data on some 30,000 abducted Ukrainian children had been deleted. Tammy said the funding was cut as part of a broader review of foreign-aid spending and asserted that the claim that the data were deleted "is untrue" and "the data exists." She added that the data "was not in the State Department's control" and that the department knows who is running the data and the website.
Context: Tammy framed funding cuts as part of a review to eliminate waste and redirect assistance toward activities the administration considers more effective; she said cutting a grant does not equate to abandoning the underlying policy goal and said President Trump had personally discussed the issue with President Zelenskyy.
What was not said: Tammy did not provide the specific name of the terminated grant in the briefing, did not detail which institution holds the data, and declined to provide operational specifics about future U.S. support to locate abducted children beyond saying the administration would pursue results through other means.
Ending: The spokesperson pledged the data are "not missing" and reiterated the administration's intent to address the issue through other mechanisms while restructuring foreign-aid programs.
