The Trump administration cut off 90% of aid through USAID, freezing $57 billion

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced the suspension of more than 90% of foreign aid through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This information comes from a lawsuit filed on Wednesday.

This is reported by CNN.

"In total, approximately 5800 USAID grants have been suspended, and more than 500 grants have been blocked. The total maximum amount of blocked grants is around $57 billion," reads the statement from the Trump administration.

The document also states that in addition to the suspension of USAID grants, "about 4100 state grants have been suspended, and about 2700 state grants have been retained."

Later on Wednesday, the administration explained in a statement that "there are still 297 contracts remaining to be reviewed."

CNN reports that the significant reduction in foreign aid is a blow to the activities of nonprofit organizations and contractors. Aid programs worldwide have come to a halt due to massive funding freezes and the review of billions of dollars in aid.

This happened after the Trump administration either furloughed or laid off most USAID employees.

The update from the administration was filed in response to a lawsuit challenging the overall suspension of foreign aid.

According to the document, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday "made a final decision on each award individually, choosing either to retain the award or terminate it according to the terms of the document or an independent legal authority as not aligned with the national interests and foreign policy of the United States."

However, the plaintiffs in this lawsuit on Wednesday disputed the claim that Rubio personally reviewed all termination decisions, stating that "it would be impossible for one person or even a group of people to meaningfully review all these contracts and decisions in such a short period."