(FILES) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio waves to employees upon arrival at the State Department in Washington, DC, on January 21, 2025. The United States, the world's biggest donor, froze virtually all foreign aid on January 24, 2025Friday, making exceptions only for emergency food, and military funding for Israel and Egypt. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent an internal memo days after President Donald Trump took office vowing an "America First" policy of tightly restricting assistance overseas. "No new funds shall be obligated for new awards or extensions of existing awards until each proposed new award or extension has been reviewed and approved," said the memo to staff seen by AFP. The sweeping order appears to affect everything from development assistance to military aid -- including potentially to Ukraine, which received billions of dollars in weapons under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden as it tries to repel a Russian invasion. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)