Energy Policy & Climate

Congress approved a $50 billion foreign aid package for 2026 — about 16% below 2025 levels but well above the Trump administration’s request — funding military assistance for Egypt, Israel and Taiwan alongside democracy programs, scholarships, embassy operations and global health and humanitarian aid. The bill partially reverses the Trump-era 2025 shutdown of the 64‑year‑old USAID and clawback of appropriated aid, a shift lawmakers like Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Tom Cole defended as fiscally responsible and strategic while experts warned it was needed to plug gaps in clinics, medicines and food that rivals such as China could exploit.