Washington, 25 January 2025 (dpa/MIA) - The US State Department ordered a 90-day halt to most foreign aid in accordance with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump, news website Politico reported on Friday, with freezes also apparently applying to funding for military assistance to Ukraine.

The directive from the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio means that no further action should be taken to distribute aid funds to programmes that have already been authorized by the US government, Politico reported, citing unnamed current and former officials at the department. Exceptions are planned for military aid to Israel and Egypt.

Politico said that it appears that the freeze includes funding for key allies such as Ukraine, Jordan and Taiwan.

The US supports Ukraine not only militarily but also with development aid. The State Department did not initially comment when asked.

On his first day in office on Monday, Trump issued an executive order pausing US foreign development assistance for 90 days to assess "programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy."

Only funds that are in line with the president's foreign policy - in the national interest of the US - are to be disbursed.

The State Department can exclude certain programmes from this. According to Politico, Rubio's directive goes further than Trump's executive order.

Last year, the US Congress approved an aid package worth nearly $61 billion for Ukraine. Most of the money was disbursed by the end of Joe Biden's term in office – but not all of it.

The New York Times on Tuesday reported that the State Department and the agency responsible for development aid had already begun to stop foreign aid payments in accordance with Trump's order a day after it was issued.

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