“If it’s providing food or medicine or anything that is saving lives and is immediate and urgent, you’re not included in the freeze. I don’t know how much more clear we can be than that,” Rubio said, questioning the competency of organizations that haven’t applied for a waiver.
However, multiple USAID staff and contractors who have spoken to CNN say that’s not reflective of the situation on the ground.
Almost all USAID humanitarian assistance programs remain stopped in their tracks, they said.
“That work is grounded to a halt because there’s no staff to manage it, and there’s no staff in DC to answer questions from partners,” one USAID employee told CNN. “The entire humanitarian architecture across the world has literally just collapsed because they have decided to stop allowing folks to work.”
Some nongovernmental organizations operating in other countries have received waivers to continue parts of their work, they told CNN on the condition of anonymity, for fear of losing future US government funding.