Ellen Knickmeyer –

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani attends the 34th Arab League summit, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Thaier Al-Sudani/Pool via AP)

Trump administration takes first steps in easing sanctions on Syria

May 23, 2025 at 5:16 p.m.

The Trump administration granted Syria sweeping exemptions from sanctions Friday in a big first step toward fulfilling the president’s pledge to lift a half-century of penalties on a country devastated...

Afghan refugees take rest at a transit station setup to facilitate Afghan refugees’ deportations, outskirt of Chaman, a town on the Pakistan and Afghanistan border, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo)

US restores urgent food aid but not in Afghanistan and Yemen, where millions need it

April 9, 2025 at 8:25 a.m.

The Trump administration has reversed sweeping cuts in emergency food aid to several nations but maintained them in Afghanistan and Yemen, two of the world’s poorest and most war-ravaged countries,...

Pete Marocco, a political appointee focused on gutting USAID, departs after briefing the House Foreign Affairs Committee behind closed doors, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

DOGE official is taking a leadership role at USAID, an email obtained by AP says

March 19, 2025 at 3:06 p.m.

A senior official at Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is taking a leadership role at the U.S. Agency for International Development, giving DOGE direct authority over an agency that...

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Secretary of State Rubio says purge of USAID programs complete, with 83% of agency’s programs gone

March 10, 2025 at 1:39 p.m.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the Trump administration had finished its six-week purge of programs of the six-decade-old U.S. Agency for International Development, and said he would move...

FILE – Flowers and a sign are placed outside the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)

Judge orders Trump administration to pay nearly $2 billion in USAID and State Department debts

March 6, 2025 at 7:02 p.m.

A federal judge has given the Trump administration until Monday to pay nearly $2 billion in debts to partners of the U.S. Agency for International Development and State Department.

Demonstrators protest against cuts to American foreign aid spending, including USAID and the PEPFAR program to combat HIV/AIDS, at the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Supreme Court, for now, blocks order for Trump administration to release billions in US foreign aid

February 26, 2025 at 8:57 p.m.

Chief Justice John Roberts said late Wednesday that the order issued by U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali will remain on hold until the high court has a chance to...

A street sign with names of U.S. government agencies housed at the Ronald Reagan Building, including the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID headquarters in Washington, is pictured with one building occupant taped, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The Trump administration is firing 2,000 USAID workers and putting thousands of others on leave

February 23, 2025 at 4:02 p.m.

The Trump administration said Sunday that it is eliminating 2,000 positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development and placing all but a fraction of other staffers worldwide on leave.

A bouquet of white flowers placed outside the headquarters of the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, is pictured, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Judge orders Trump administration to temporarily allow funds for foreign aid to flow again

February 13, 2025 at 10:02 p.m.

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to temporarily lift a three-week funding freeze that has shut down U.S. aid and development programs abroad.

Flowers and a sign are placed outside the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

White House fires USAID inspector general after warning about funding oversight, officials say

February 11, 2025 at 6:50 p.m.

The White House fired the USAID inspector general on Tuesday, several U.S. officials said. The dismissal comes a day after his office warned that the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID...

United States Agency for International Development, or USAID contract worker Priya Kathpal, right, and Taylor Williamson, left, who works for a company doing contract work for USAID, carry signs outside the USAID headquarters in Washington, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Billions in unspent aid lacks oversight after Trump targets USAID, watchdog warns

February 10, 2025 at 4:11 p.m.

Officials and federal officers turned away scores of U.S. Agency for International staffers who showed up for work Monday at its Washington headquarters, after a court temporarily blocked a Trump...

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