State Department says 59,000 tons of food assistance are in motion after reports of incinerated aid
According to figures shared with Fox News Digital, the agency currently has 59,305 metric tons of in-kind food commodities stored in warehouses across the United States and abroad.
"We have already programmed all the food expiring before October 2026," a senior State Department official said. "The idea that we have tons of expiring food we are letting go to waste is simply false."
The State Department says it has approved 44,422 metric tons of food to be transferred or reprogrammed through partnerships with the World Food Program (WFP), Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, and Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA). That includes 30,000 tons of short-dated food supplies already programmed for delivery to crisis zones like Syria, Bangladesh, and Sudan.
Rubio Officially Kills Usaid, Reveals Future Home For Foreign Assistance Programs
An additional 12,000 tons of aid is awaiting final reprogramming, a delay the department attributes to a temporary hold by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Title II apportionments — an issue officials say has now been resolved.
Read On The Fox News App
"To the extent there is a delay that is causing operational problems, it is not from the State Department," the official said. "All of the food expiring in the next 16 months is accounted for."
The official also dismissed recent media coverage, arguing that the focus on a limited amount of food near expiration distorts the larger picture. "The very small portion — less than 1% of USAID's food stockpiles — addressed by the mainstream media was the exception that distracts from a very extensive and orderly process we directed to ensure that all of the food was accounted for in an efficient and strategic manner."
The public defense comes after several outlets reported that the Trump administration ordered the incineration of roughly 500 metric tons of emergency food stored in Dubai as it neared expiration.
According to Reuters, while 622 tons were successfully redirected to countries including Syria, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, another 496 tons — valued at $793,000 — were destroyed, with an additional $100,000 in disposal costs.
The incident occurred as part of a broader restructuring of U.S. foreign aid policy. In early July, the Trump administration officially dissolved USAID, transferring authority over development and humanitarian programs to the State Department. That shift has been accompanied by efforts to rescind billions of dollars in foreign assistance.
A temporary aid pause in January prompted the former State Department inspector general to warn that as much as $500 million worth of food aid was at risk of expiring. However, the department says assistance is now back online under a restructured model.
State Department Reveals Plan To Deliver 'Life-saving' Meals To 1.4M Starving Children
With USAID phased out, the State Department is now responsible for managing large-scale aid programs, and it is under pressure to deliver. Lawmakers and aid groups are closely watching to see whether the newly reprogrammed food aid reaches intended recipients.
Democrats seized on the incineration reports during congressional hearings this week, accusing the Trump administration of turning its back on urgent humanitarian needs. The reports were first published by The Atlantic.
Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined the administration's vision for foreign assistance, saying he was abandoning what he called a "charity-based model" in favor of empowering growth and self-reliance in developing nations.
"We will favor those nations that have demonstrated both the ability and willingness to help themselves," Rubio wrote, "and will target our resources to areas where they can have a multiplier effect and catalyze durable private sector — including American companies — and global investment."
The new approach is designed to emphasize trade and investment over direct aid, and to position the U.S. to better counter China's growing global influence.Original article source: State Department says 59,000 tons of food assistance are in motion after reports of incinerated aid
Solve the daily Crossword
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
26 minutes ago
- UPI
DOJ files misconduct complaint against Judge James Boasberg
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Monday that a complaint has been filed against a judge who President Donald Trump threatened to impeach. File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo July 29 (UPI) -- Attorney General Pam Bondi on Monday evening announced that a misconduct complaint has been filed against District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg "for making improper public comments" about President Donald Trump, amid his administration's targeting of the U.S. judicial system. Boasberg, a President Barack Obama appointee, has rejected Trump's attempt to deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador to be interned in a notorious mega prison for terrorists, attracting the ire of the president, who has called for the judge's impeachment. The complaint, obtained by both Politico and Courthouse News, focuses on comments made by Boasberg to Chief Justice John Roberts and some two dozen other judges who attended a March 11 judicial conference. According to the document, Boasberg said he believed that the Trump administration would "disregard rulings of federal courts," which would trigger "a constitutional crisis." The Justice Department alleges that the comments deviated from the administrative matters generally discussed at the conference and were intended to influence Roberts and the other judges. The conference was held amid litigation on Trump's ability to summarily deport the Venezuelan migrants, and days before Boasberg ruled against the administration. He also ruled that Trump had deported the migrants to El Salvador in violation of his order -- an order that was vacated in April by a divided Supreme Court. The complaint states that within days of making the alleged comments, he "began acting on his preconceived belief that the Trump administration would not follow court orders." "These comments have undermined the integrity of the judiciary, and we will not stand for that," Bondi said in a statement on X announcing the filing of the complaint. The Trump administration has attracted staunch criticism from the legal profession over actions it has taken that have been described as targeting the independence of the U.S. judiciary system. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has threatened to impeach judges who rule against him, including Boasberg, described them as "rouge judges," sanctioned law firms and lawyers linked to his political adversaries and has ignored or defied rulings he disagrees with. His administration most recently fired newly appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Desiree Leigh Grace because the New Jersey judges did not select Trump's pick for the position. The complaint against Boasberg was signed by Chad Mizelle, chief of staff for Bondi, who alleged in a statement that Boasberg's March comments violated the Canons of the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges. "Federal judges often complain about the decline of public trust in the judiciary," he said on X. "But if the judiciary simply ignores improper conduct like Judge Boasberg's, it will have itself to blame when the public stops trusting it." The Justice Department, in the complaint, is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to launch a special investigation to determine whether Boasberg's conduct constitutes prejudice against the Trump administration. It also seeks "interim corrective measures," including reassignment of the cases related to the deportation of the Venezuelan migrants to another judge. The complaint is also the second that the Trump administration has filed against a judge. In February, Bondi filed a complaint -- which is still under review -- against Judge Ana Reyes for "hostile and egregious misconduct" against the Trump administration during litigation on the president's executive order to ban transgender service members from the military.
Politico
26 minutes ago
- Politico
North Korea says Kim-Trump ties are ‘not bad' — but it's not giving up its nukes
In a statement carried by state media, Kim Yo Jong said she doesn't deny the personal relationship between her brother and Trump 'is not bad.' But she said if their personal relations are to serve the purpose of North Korea's denuclearization, North Korea would view it as 'nothing but a mockery.' She said North Korea's nuclear capability has sharply increased since the first round of the Kim-Trump diplomacy and that any attempt to deny North Korea as a nuclear weapons state would be rejected. 'If the U.S. fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK- U.S. meeting will remain as a 'hope' of the U.S. side,' Kim Yo Jong said, referring to her country by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. She said it would be 'advisable to seek another way of contact.' Kim Yo Jong is a key official on the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party. She handles the country's relations with South Korea and the United States, and South Korean officials and experts believe she is the North's second-most powerful person after her brother. Kim Yo Jong said she was responding to reported comments by a U.S. official that Trump is open to talks on denuclearization. She likely was referring to a Saturday article by Yonhap news agency that cited an unidentified White House official as saying Trump 'remains open to engaging with Leader Kim to achieve a fully denuclearized North Korea.' 'North Korea wants to say it's not interested in talks on denuclearization and the U.S. must determine what benefits it can give to the North first,' said Nam Sung-wook, a former head of the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank run by South Korea's spy agency. Nam said Trump's likely desire to win a Nobel Peace Prize would prompt him to seek talks with Kim Jong Un and give him corresponding benefits for taking phased denuclearization steps. Nam said North Korea would want broad sanctions relief, a suspension of U.S.-South Korea military drills that it regards as invasion rehearsals and other economic incentives. Kim Yeol Soo, an analyst at South Korea's Korea Institute for Military Affairs, said U.S. and North Korean officials could meet if they narrow some differences on terms for restoring talks. But he said Trump's unpredictability would make it extremely difficult to predict what concessions the Americans would offer. Other experts have earlier said that North Korea — now preoccupied with its expanding cooperation with Russia — sees no urgent need to resume diplomacy with the U.S. and South Korea. On Monday, Kim Yo Jong rebuffed overtures by South Korea's new liberal government, saying its 'blind trust' in the country's alliance with the U.S. and hostility toward North Korea make it no different from its conservative predecessor.
26 minutes ago
ABC News Live Prime: July 28, 2025
At least four people killed in midtown NYC shooting; Trump weighs in on dire situation in Gaza; Deion Sanders reveals bladder cancer battle; Sofia Carson & Corey Mylchreest discuss 'My Oxford Year' July 29, 2025
