FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
PRESS CONTACT:
nicole@focalpointstrategygroup.com
Washington, D.C. — President Trump’s Day One executive order to withhold foreign aid is now being carried out by the State Department, resulting in a freeze on funding for PEPFAR—the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. PEPFAR, a multi-agency public health initiative spearheaded by the State Department, distributes billions of dollars each year to combat HIV/AIDS worldwide. The program has historically enjoyed bipartisan support, with lawmakers across the political spectrum backing its mission. Its funding, which has already been approved by Congress, is now at risk due to Trump’s move to withhold it.
OMB Director nominee Russell Vought has repeatedly stated his belief that the executive branch should have the power to ignore appropriations laws duly enacted by Congress.
One of PEPFAR’s staunchest advocates has been Senator Lindsey Graham, Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and top Trump ally. Graham has long championed the program’s critical role in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, regularly supporting it through Senate resolutions and public statements.
“Are Sen. Graham and his fellow Republican supporters of PEPFAR simply going to be steamrolled by Russ Vought, an unelected bureaucrat?” said Congressional Integrity Project senior advisor Kyle Herrig. “Sen. Graham and his colleagues either believe PEPFAR has saved millions of lives and should be funded as Congress intended or they are willing to bow down to the Trump administration and its unconstitutional withholding of critical funding in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.”
Read more from Republican members of the Senate Committee on Appropriations:
- Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC): “Started under President Bush and supported by every President since, PEPFAR has been one of the most successful public health programs in the history of the world, and has saved millions of lives.”
- Senator Susan Collins (R-ME): “Other bipartisan initiatives, such as the successful President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, which was started by President George W. Bush, demonstrate that results-driven interventions can turn the tide for global health challenges.”
- Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “President Bush said in his 2003 State of the Union that ‘the qualities of courage and compassion that we strive for in America [must] also determine our conduct abroad’… There’s no better distillation of this belief than in [President Bush’s] and [the] First Lady’s work on PEPFAR. One visionary program helped tens of millions of people… live longer and healthier lives and deepened the roots of American strategic partnerships across an entire continent.”
- Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS): “This #WAD2023 we celebrate the incredible results of U.S. investments in @GlobalFund & @PEPFAR to help millions of mothers access life-saving medication & prevent transmitting HIV/AIDS to babies. We must work towards a five-year reauthorization of this life-saving program.”
- Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Todd Young (R-IN): “U.S. leadership through PEPFAR and other bilateral investments, along with multilateral investments in the Global Fund, have been transformative in fighting the deadly HIV/AIDS epidemic that was devastating countries, and the results are incredible…Providing robust support for PEPFAR and the Global Fund bolsters the United States’ relationships in the world, and increases our ability to strengthen health systems that protect against virulent disease outbreaks…We are on track to achieving an AIDS-free generation, but without continued financial support from the U.S. government, our gains could quickly recede.”
Read the Latest:
- Washington Post: Funds for fight against HIV/AIDS paused in Trump aid freeze
- President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on foreign aid, an executive order signed the day after he took office, applies not only to new funding but existing funding as well, according to a memo that many U.S. diplomats were surprised to receive Friday. The far-reaching move could disrupt U.S. programs around the world, including a widely lauded effort to combat HIV worldwide that is credited with saving some 25 million lives, U.S. officials warned.
- Politico: State Department issues immediate, widespread pause on foreign aid
- The new guidance means no further actions will be taken to disperse aid funding to programs already approved by the U.S. government, according to three current and two former officials familiar with the new guidance.
- People working in global health are alarmed about the impact of the order on programs such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which funds testing and treatment for people living with HIV, mostly in Africa. The program has received about $5 billion in funding annually, in recent years.
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About Congressional Integrity Project
The Congressional Integrity Project is focused on revealing how those in power are empowering special interests, and abusing their authority to target political rivals and weaken civil society. We use research and strategic communications to keep the public informed. Our work has been critical in mitigating the damage these political stunts inflict on the progressive movement and everyday Americans.