According to an email obtained by POLITICO magazine, a sub-agency of the U.S. State Department, the Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Bureau (DRL), issued a survey on Wednesday, March 5th, requesting various U.S. aid recipients to detail how their programs contribute to advancing the “America First” agenda. They were also asked to indicate whether their plans are related to the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) agenda.
The email revealed that the survey will require grant recipients to answer 36 questions, explaining if each grant aligns with the President’s “America First” foreign policy. The policy mandates that “every dollar of foreign aid should help make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.” Meanwhile, the agency aims to ensure that State Department aid projects are not used to fund programs related to climate, transgender, or DEI through this review process.
The State Department expressed its desire to promptly obtain details of these foreign aid programs and requested the completed surveys to be submitted by March 7th (Washington time).
President Trump issued an executive order in January to freeze foreign aid programs for 90 days and sent out surveys to organizations receiving funding from the State Department to determine whether aid should continue. Subsequently, the State Department collaborated with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Musk, to cancel thousands of U.S. foreign aid programs covering areas such as food security, public health, and clean energy.
The DRL conducted this survey at the behest of the White House and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In the past six weeks, OMB worked with DOGE to significantly reduce government programs and federal employee numbers.