State Department spokesperson says USAID funding review is a 90-day pause as cuts are assessed

Tammy Bruce, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, told reporters the department has placed a 90-day pause on portions of U.S. foreign-aid spending to review whether funds are being used efficiently and to address potential waste, fraud and abuse.

The review, Bruce said at a State Department briefing, began after an initial inquiry into the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) books met resistance. "It began because there was no cooperation at the beginning," she said, adding the pause was intended "to look at the nature of how the taxpayer money has been spent and if it was being used in the proper way." Bruce said the review is aimed at ensuring funds advance U.S. national interests by being effective and efficient.

Bruce acknowledged an error in a State Department fact sheet circulated on Jan. 29 about annual U.S. foreign-aid spending that initially said $70 billion and was later corrected online to $40 billion. "It was corrected and that's certainly not going to happen again," she said. Reporters asked for specifics about alleged illegal wrongdoing uncovered in the USAID review; Bruce responded that she could not comment on potential litigation or investigations and said she had not been involved in the detailed investigatory work.

Reporters raised several related concerns: whether awards already cut could be restored, how many programs described as "life-saving" had been terminated, and whether the department will publish a full list of grants and programs affected by the review. Bruce said decisions are being made case by case under standards set by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and that there is a process for organizations to apply for waivers or to make a case for reinstatement. She said she would seek to provide a more complete list to reporters when she could confirm the information.

Bruce also referenced public reporting that the department had cut "92% of the awards worth $54,000,000,000" and said that where problems were identified they were being addressed, but she declined to provide detailed tallies during the briefing.

Why it matters: the review affects a large share of U.S. foreign assistance programming administered or coordinated by USAID and the State Department and has prompted questions from Congress, recipients and career diplomats about the near-term stability of ongoing projects and humanitarian work.

The briefing concluded with Bruce saying the department would follow up with reporters to provide confirmed details and a list of actions once those were verified.