Days into the second Trump administration, the US State Department and US Agency for International Development (USAID) have paused—with few exceptions and waivers—all US foreign aid assistance as the administration undertakes a policy review. According to a State Department press release announcing the aid freeze, the pause is meant to ensure foreign assistance is “efficient and consistent with US foreign policy under the America First agenda.”

This comes at a critical time for Syria following the collapse of the Assad regime late last year and the establishment of a new interim government led by Ahmed al-Shara, who headed the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Syria—and US regional and European partners—are relying on the United States to lead the way in sanctions relief efforts to allow trade and investment to flow into the country and bolster the state-building process. While limited sanctions relief was granted in the final weeks of the Biden administration, likely prompting the European Union (EU) to also recently ease economic restrictions, the Trump administration’s foreign assistance freeze has the potential to jeopardize Syria’s fragile recovery. 

In his confirmation hearing in January, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio previewed his priorities for an outcome in Syria that is favorable to US interests and, more importantly, for the people of Syria. Rubio described an endgame in which Syria is not a land bridge for Iranian proxies, a chessboard for foreign interventions, or an exporter of drugs and terrorism. On several fronts, the Trump administration should pick up where the Biden administration left off in helping Syrians to rebuild their country.

The United States should also use this critical opportunity in Syria to learn from the challenges of the past three administrations. While the strategic importance of Syria’s stability for the Middle East, European allies, and US adversaries has long been a point of bipartisan understanding, strategic outcomes in Syria have been ill-defined. US policy levers, from humanitarian aid and sanctions to military presence on the ground, were misaligned with US goals. Going forward, US humanitarian and economic assistance to the country should be better aligned with clearly identifiable goals that help the Syrian people while furthering US interests in a stable and peaceful Syria.

Reliance on foreign aid assistance in Syria

Humanitarian needs in Syria are at an all-time high—in 2024, 16.7 million people were estimated to require assistance, the largest number since the beginning of the civil war in 2011. Foreign assistance, particularly from the United States, has played a significant, lifesaving role in Syria in the last decade and a half. Despite this, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recently reported ongoing and severe underfunding for the Syria Humanitarian Response Plan—with only 34.5 percent of its $4.1 billion funding requirements fulfilled as of the beginning of this year. 

The United States is the largest foreign aid provider to Syria, contributing more than $18 billion in humanitarian assistance since 2011, including $1.2 billion in 2024. Most of last year’s funding supported humanitarian and emergency response efforts, with $76.8 million for refugee and conflict victim support, $34.7 million for humanitarian aid like food and nutrition, and $20.2 million for emergency food assistance and related services.

US funding has been crucial in supporting humanitarian efforts on the ground in Syria. The White Helmets, an internationally-supported Syrian civil rescue organization, has received US support for critical operations across the country, including search and rescue missions, as well as health and protection programming. In the weeks since Bashar al-Assad’s fall, their critical work has included the clearing of unexploded ordnance across the country, which pose a severe threat to civilians, especially children, and have resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries. The White Helmets have also prioritized securing and recovering chemical weapons stockpiles left by the Assad regime, activities which have since been halted by the recent pause, raising concerns over the ability to prevent the spread of chemical weapons in Syria and neighboring countries.

US aid has also played a critical role in managing Al-Hol and Al-Roj camps in northeast Syria, which house over 46,000 displaced individuals—primarily women and children—from former Islamic State of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) territories. Essential water and sanitation services managed by US-funded humanitarian staff were suddenly suspended, placing camp residents at greater risk of lack of access to safe drinking water, as well as water and vector-borne disease spread. Also alarming was the effect of the sudden pause on funding that contributes to the security and administrative management of major detention facilities holding close to ten thousand ISIS fighters in these areas, which raised concerns among counterterrorism officials about mass prison breaks and a potential ISIS resurgence. State Department officials quickly responded by granting exceptions for foreign aid cuts related to the management of these facilities. However, other sudden moves to withdraw aid in Syria or downsize the US military presence in the country could pose significant counterterrorism risks for the United States and its partners. It is in the United States’ broader interest to ensure security needs in Syria are met in order to prevent violent extremists from exploiting political vacuums.

What does the “stop-work” order mean for Syria?

The recent “stop-work” order has introduced significant uncertainty for ongoing aid and economic recovery efforts in Syria—and as a result poses risks to US interests in the region. While the order originally included a carve-out for emergency food aid, the exact scope and implementation of these exceptions remain unclear for Syria, raising concerns from the United Nations and aid groups about disruptions to critical forms of assistance globally. In response to this pressure, Rubio has since issued a waiver for “life-saving assistance,” which includes medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance. Aid organizations, like the White Helmets and even US-based contractors and small businesses supporting US-funded programs abroad, are still navigating an unpredictable funding environment, making it difficult to plan for long-term relief and stabilization efforts.

This development comes in the context of previous US measures aimed at mitigating the impact of sanctions on humanitarian aid in Syria. The Biden administration had previously granted select sanctions relief to Syria for six months through the US Treasury Department to facilitate the provision of public services and humanitarian assistance. This relief applied to sanctions related to transactions with Syria’s government and the processing of personal remittances to the country through the Syrian Central Bank. This was followed promptly by a waiver to the Foreign Assistance Act relating to Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terror for Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Ukraine. Not without its flaws, the move aimed to enable critical aid and development assistance in sectors ranging from energy and agriculture to technology and healthcare. Other countries, as well as the EU, are using a “step-by-step” approach to the lifting of sanctions on Syria as leverage to ensure the new government is meeting key indicators of a successful and sustainable political transition.

With the stop-work order now in effect, the future of US-backed humanitarian operations in Syria is now in question. The recent waiver issued by the State Department for this order notably does not include stabilization assistance—of which the United States has collectively contributed more than $1.3 billion since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011—and is defined as multi-sectoral support to “local governance, essential services, and livelihoods and economic recovery.” Experts have noted that these efforts to promote stability in Syria in the coming months is contingent on indicators to the Syrian people that the economic conditions in the country are on the mend under the new government. It is therefore in the United States’ and its partners’ national security interests to aid postwar recovery in Syria to begin the process of improving US-Syria relations, facilitate the return of refugees and displaced Syrians around the globe, and ensure regional stability.

The Trump administration has also issued a series of executive orders on personnel at the State Department and USAID. The administration has placed senior career civil servants on administrative leave, fired institutional contractors, and pressured employees to resign. These include officials who have worked on Syria for over a decade and possess critical institutional knowledge on conflict stabilization, humanitarian assistance, and development in fragile economies.

Aid groups and policymakers are closely monitoring whether additional exemptions or funding adjustments will be made to prevent further disruptions to essential services. The potential consequences of prolonged aid suspensions could exacerbate existing humanitarian crises and create new security risks in a region already facing instability.

Ensuring a stable Syria

Syria is at a critical juncture in its history, and the next few months are essential for the country’s interim authorities to ensure national and regional stability. As Sinan Hatahet highlights in a piece for the Atlantic Council, the United States has an especially vital role to play in Syria’s recovery efforts as this “post-Assad honeymoon” phase fades. 

As other post-conflict contexts have demonstrated, foreign aid and stabilization programming—led out of the US State Department and USAID—will be instrumental in determining Syria’s trajectory. To facilitate a stable postwar recovery in Syria, the United States must ensure that US leadership in aid development is not in question. In addition to resuming existing aid programs, there are several steps the administration can take to improve its aid to Syria and better align it with US objectives.

• Evaluate how local programs fit into broader US policy and Syria’s evolving political situation.
• Ensure aid is aligned with local systems and development priorities as programs are renewed or new ones are developed.
• If unwilling for political reasons to increase US aid to Syria, continue Biden administration steps, including taking further actions to permanently roll back sanctions in Syria and to remove barriers for allies and partners to do so.

Postwar Syria faces a precarious economic and security situation and the United States’ assistance—or lack thereof—will play an outsize role in its outcome. For the sake of both the Syrian people and the United States’ interest in a stable and peaceful Syria that does not become a terrorist threat, it is imperative that US aid to Syria continue. 

Diana Rayes, PhD, is a nonresident fellow for the Syria Project in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs.

Note: Some Atlantic Council work funded by the US government has been paused as a result of the Trump administration’s Stop Work Orders issued under the Executive Order “Reevaluating and Realigning US Foreign Aid.”

Further reading

Fri, Jan 10, 2025

To help build the new Syria, the US needs to better understand the Kurds and Arabs of the northeast

MENASource By Ömer Özkizilcik

Washington should take note of the complexities in the region and not be bound by the past. The security of the entire region is at stake.

Civil Society Democratic Transitions

Fri, Jan 3, 2025

Dispatch from Damascus: The challenges of rebuilding are becoming clearer in Syria

MENASource By Diana Rayes 

Syrians know they will not get what they need to rebuild as a society with one hand tied behind their backs, Diana Rayes writes from Damascus.

Civil Society Democratic Transitions

Sat, Dec 21, 2024

A US blueprint for Syria’s fragile transition

MENASource By Sana Sekkarie

As long as HTS is willing to evolve and accept constructive criticism, the US should engage with the group. Ignoring Syria’s new leaders will not make them go away.

Civil Society Crisis Management

Image: A girl holds bread she bought, as she walks past people lining up outside the bakery, after Syria's Bashar al-Assad was ousted, in Douma, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra