President Donald Trump is soon to make a significant change to the conditions by which the United States sends aid to foreign governments, with a new key factor being the level of religious freedom and tolerance within that country, Politico reports.
The new rule is currently being drafted as an executive order by White House aides, and would include humanitarian aid and possibly even military aid. President Trump addressed his administration’s focus on religious freedom in his most recent speech to the United Nations, where he pointed out that “80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where religious liberty is in significant danger or even completely outlawed.”
It has been speculated that the move could be intended to energize President Trump’s base of Evangelical voters, and Vice President Mike Pence could also have a role in this decision. President Trump recently set up an “International Religious Freedom Alliance” in order to bring multiple countries to the table on the subject of religious freedom, and announced in September the investment of $25 million in “religious freedom efforts.”