The United States State Department is conducting a review of all foreign donations which were issued by the administration of former president Barack Obama during its last months, especially the announcement of $220 million aid to Palestine hours before Donald Trump officially took over as the president on January 20.
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Departmental officials said although most of the donations has been transferred, the review will include dozens of foreign-aid allocations made since Trump's election on November 8 last year. However, even if it is found now that protocols were not followed while making the allocations, it is difficult to make adjustments now, the Washington Post reported.
The Obama administration had made a series of decisions in the weeks before Trump's inauguration. The decisions were hurried to secure the administration's policies before Trump reversed them. Standing true to their apprehensions, the Trump team, during its first week, has spent most of its time reversing the previous administation's policies.
Former secretary of state John Kerry had notified Congress officially on the Inauguration Day that a sum of $220.3 million was being released to the Palestinians in the form of foreign aid. It is still not clear how much of the money has already been transferred.
The state department's notification to the US Congress said it would be used for humanitarian aid -- to support political and security reforms -- and also to lay the groundwork for establishing rule of law in a future state of Palestine. Although the funding was approved by the Congress, Republican lawmakers in the House placed holds on it. The funding came from the US Agency for International Development.
Under Obama, the department had also annoucned a $500-million contribution to the United Nations Green Climate Fund, just three days before Trump's swearing-in. The contribution was a second instalment to a total of $3 billion promised to the UN climate fund by Obama. However, it is unlikely that the remaining $2 billion will be given to the fund anymore.
President Trump does not believe in climate change and has deemed it as a hoax. During his presidential campaign, Trump had also vowed to "cancel" the Paris climate agreement and to put a halt to all the funding given by the US to UN global-warming programmes.
Kerry had also announced a $1 million aid to the United Nations Children's Fund for humanitarian aid and the fund was allocated to provide relief to the flood-affected people in North Korea.
