Sri Lanka, Jan. 26 -- The US State Department has frozen nearly all foreign assistance worldwide, effective immediately, following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump on Monday. The order places a 90-day hold on such assistance.

According to CNN, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a cable to all US diplomatic posts on Friday detailing the move, which threatens billions of dollars in funding from the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for global programs.

Foreign assistance has long been a bone of contention for Republicans in Congress and Trump administration officials, though the funding represents a small portion of the overall US budget. The broad scope of the executive order ...