State Department further scrutinizes foreign aid for DEI, climate and transgender projects
Source: Politico
03/05/2025 01:15 PM EST
The State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor launched a review of its foreign assistance projects Wednesday to determine if they fund climate, transgender or diversity, equity and inclusion-related initiatives, according to an internal email obtained by POLITICO.
The results of that screening via a questionnaire to organizations that receive State funding may determine the fate of the remainder of aid projects that President Donald Trump froze for 90 days with an executive order in January.
The State Department in collaboration with the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency subsequently dismantled USAID and scuttled thousands of U.S. foreign aid programs spanning food security, public health and clean energy. DRL is conducting the probe at the behest of the White House and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the email said. The OMB has worked in lockstep with DOGE in slashing government programs and personnel over the past six weeks. Neither the State Department, the White House nor the OMB responded to requests for comment.
“The data call will require grantees to respond to 36 questions about the alignment of each individual award with the president’s America First foreign policy,” said the email. That alignment requires that “each dollar of foreign assistance makes America safer, stronger and more prosperous,” the email said. State wants the details of those foreign aid programs fast. It’s requiring submission of completed questionnaires by “open-of-business March 7 (D.C. time).”
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/05/state-department-scrutinizes-foreign-aid-00213143