President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that called for a 90-day pause on new foreign-aid programs for efficiency and "consistency with U.S. foreign policy." The order got less attention than some of the others he signed that day but may have much more far-reaching effects.

HIV clinics have closed. Food aid sits in storage. Classrooms have shut down. Every day that the 90-day aid freeze continues, over 1,000 more people will die of malaria.

MIAMI — When President Trump froze foreign assistance, he argued the drastic step was needed to eliminate waste and block what he derides as “woke” spending. Experts say the suspension has another, far more serious consequence: emboldening authoritarian strongmen.

President Trump’s pause on aid, and the gutting of the primary aid agency, could jeopardize the health of more than 20 million people worldwide, including 500,000 children, experts say.

Since the inauguration, the incoming Administration has imposed spending freezes and stop-work orders on a wide swath of American foreign-aid enterprises. Funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)—which,

Food distribution is being stopped. Health services are being shut down. Lifesaving aid is being tied up, with no way to disburse it. These aren’t warnings of what’s to come, but examples of what aid workers say is the fallout of the Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid and the gutting of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

InterAction CEO Tom Hart sits down with Margaret Brennan to discuss the impact of the pause on foreign assistance. InterAction is a coalition of about 170 NGOs.

Does America stand to lose anything if Pepfar disappears? What lies ahead for the US Agency for International Development? Are Trump’s executive orders even legal? Daily Maverick tackles key questions about the 90-day pause on US foreign aid.