[3] On 28 January, exemptions were expanded to cover "humanitarian programs that provide life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter and subsistence assistance".

[4] The exemptions excluded "activities that involve abortions, family planning conferences, administrative costs [that are not reasonably used in life-saving aid], gender or DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) ideology programs, transgender surgeries, or other non-life saving assistance.

[9] At the UN General Assembly in 2018, Trump gave a speech in which he said "Moving forward, we are only going to give foreign aid to those who respect us and, frankly, are our friends".

[3] On 28 January, exemptions were expanded to cover "humanitarian programs that provide life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter and subsistence assistance".

[4] The exemptions did not include "activities that involve abortions, family planning conferences, administrative costs [that are not reasonably used in life-saving aid], gender or DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) ideology programs, transgender surgeries, or other non-life saving assistance.

"[5][6] On 29 January State Department issued a statement to justify the freeze by saying that programs "have little to no incentive to share programmatic-level details so long as the dollars continue to flow".

[5][15] The statement claimed that the "pause and review of U.S. foreign aid is already paying dividends to our country and our people", such as by "rooting out waste", "blocking woke programs", and "exposing activities that run contrary to our national interests.

[19] CBS reported that officials placed on leave included "the assistant administrators and deputy assistant administrators heading up most of [USAID's] bureaus", as well as "USAID attorneys in the Office of the General Counsel, who are responsible for interpreting the executive orders for implementation", and that "hundreds of contractors had their employment furloughed or terminated".

[22] A Millennium Challenge Corporation project to modernize Liberia's energy sector and improve transportation was delayed indefinitely.

[23] On 27 January, PEPFAR staff were unable to log on to their computer systems, affecting clinics that serve 20 million people with HIV.

On 28 January, Reuters reported that "In Johannesburg, a clinic treating HIV patients and several health centres for transgender people were shuttered on Tuesday and remained closed on Wednesday while organisations sought more guidance.

[31] On 25 January, hundreds of staff at the Al-Hawl refugee camp in Syria were told to stop working, causing disruptions for water, sanitation, and security.

A Blumont official said the organization had had to shut down around 100 other sites of USAID-funded humanitarian and management work for displaced people.

[35] Proximity International, a contractor at the site—which, per The New York Times, "manages a program to train and equip thousands of Syrians to act as a police force, and provide them with vehicles and equipment"—had to stop work and was unable to renew its contract because of the suspension;[37] it was given a one-month waiver on 31 January, hours before its contract would have expired.

[40] Smart News Liberia reported that Liberian president Joseph Boakai began "urgent diplomatic engagements with U.S. officials in an attempt to secure assurances that already approved funds will remain accessible.

"[23] On 28 January, Kenya's Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said in a statement "We hope President Trump’s administration will provide new pathways for cushioning most vulnerable populations".