Washington: The Trump administration announced on Wednesday it is eliminating more than 90% of the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) foreign aid contracts, marking a dramatic reduction in global US assistance worth $60 billion.

The sweeping cuts, detailed in an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press and in federal court filings, leave little room for advocates to defend ongoing USAID projects in their legal battles with the administration. This move signals a major retreat from decades of US policy aimed at using foreign aid to stabilize countries, build economic ties, and create international alliances.

President Donald Trump and his ally, Elon Musk, have spearheaded a rapid and aggressive effort to cut federal spending, with a particular focus on foreign aid. Both have criticized USAID projects as promoting a liberal agenda and wasting taxpayer money.

On January 20, Trump ordered a 90-day review to assess which foreign assistance programs should continue, leading to a near-instant freeze of all foreign aid. This freeze halted thousands of US-funded programs abroad, and the administration, alongside Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, removed many USAID staff through forced leave and firings.

In filings from Wednesday’s court proceedings, nonprofits with active contracts with USAID expressed concern over the rapid termination of their agreements. They described a chaotic process where political appointees from the Trump administration and Musk's teams terminated contracts without adequate review or time for adjustment, leaving critical aid programs in limbo.

"'There are MANY more terminations coming, so please gear up!'' lawyers for the nonprofits wrote, quoting an email sent by a USAID official to staff on Monday.

The State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had reviewed the terminations.

In all, the Trump administration said it will eliminate 5,800 of 6,200 multiyear USAID contract awards, for a cut of $54 billion. Another 4,100 of 9,100 State Department grants were being eliminated, for a cut of $4.4 billion.

The Washington Free Beacon was the first to report on the memo.

The memo described the administration as spurred by a federal court order that gave officials until the end of the day Wednesday to lift the Trump administration's monthlong block on foreign aid funding.

“In response, State and USAID moved rapidly,” targeting USAID and State Department foreign aid programs in vast numbers for contract terminations, the memo said.

The nonprofits, among thousands of contractors, owed billions of dollars in payment since the freeze began, call the en masse contract terminations a maneuver to get around complying with the order to lift the funding freeze temporarily.

Trump administration officials — after repeated warnings from the federal judge in the case — also said Wednesday they had finally begun paying USAID bills again after the monthlong halt on payments, freeing for delivery a few million of billions of dollars owed. (AP)