Executive Order 14169: Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid
President: Donald J. Trump
Paused new obligations and disbursements of development assistance for 90 days while agencies reviewed whether programs aligned with administration foreign policy.
Status: In effect. Is Executive Order 14169 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 14169 remains in effect. See Federal Register record.
What does Executive Order 14169 do?
It allowed waivers and did not itself cancel every grant or congressional appropriation.
Later primary evidence reviewed September 24, 2026: State revoked an earlier global-development policy directive, expressly citing inconsistency with this foreign-aid order among its reasons. Official source. The cited steps do not establish every downstream effect.
Reading the operative provisions of Executive Order 14169
The 90-day pause was not an instruction to cancel every foreign-assistance award. Section 3 directed agencies to pause new obligations and disbursements for development assistance while each responsible department reviewed its programs for efficiency and consistency with presidential foreign policy. OMB was assigned to enforce the pause through apportionment authority. The Secretary of State supplied review guidelines with OMB, and program-owning agencies were to decide whether to continue, modify, or cease each program with State’s concurrence.
The order built in routes for funding to move again before the 90 days ended. The Secretary of State could waive the pause for specific programs, and agencies could resume a program after a review and approval. New assistance programs and obligations also required State approval, in consultation with OMB. These clauses matter because the order’s headline pause did not dictate the same outcome for every grant, country, contractor, or international organization. Each award still had its own appropriation, contract terms, and implementing agency.
A pause in disbursement also differs from repeal of a congressional appropriation. EO 14169 expressly preserves statutory agency authority and makes implementation subject to applicable law and available appropriations. Later State Department actions, including the revocation of PPD-6 cited in this guide, are separate policy instruments. To determine whether a particular program was stopped or resumed, follow its waiver, review determination, award notice, and any court order rather than infer the result from the 90-day clock alone. Read Executive Order 14169 in the Federal Register.
Before and after
Before the order
Congressional appropriations, agency awards and prior policy governed ongoing foreign assistance.
USAID and State administered programs under statutes and existing agreements.
After the order
Agencies paused covered new obligations and disbursements pending review and possible continuation, modification or termination.
Implementation, impoundment questions, USAID reorganization and individual awards became subjects of litigation and later executive action.
State revoked an earlier global-development policy directive, expressly citing inconsistency with this foreign-aid order among its reasons.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| OMB | Enforce the 90-day pause | Immediate |
| Secretary of State | Review programs and determine alignment | Within 90 days |
| Agency heads | Continue, modify or cease programs after review | Subject to approval and law |
What happened next
EO 14169 signed.
Ninety-day review period ended.
Later primary evidence reviewed: State revoked an earlier global-development policy directive, expressly citing inconsistency with this foreign-aid order among its reasons.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The President may direct executive foreign policy, but appropriations statutes, the Impoundment Control Act, grant terms and administrative-law duties can constrain implementation. Court rulings apply to the specific actions and parties before them.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 24, 2026. How we research →