'A mad scramble': How Trump tweet on Pakistan blindsided U.S. officials


  • World
  • Friday, 12 Jan 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a joint news conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 10, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A surprise New Year's Day tweet by President Donald Trump in which he appeared to decree an end to U.S. aid for Pakistan, sent U.S. officials scrambling to suspend security assistance without even knowing how much aid they were freezing, four U.S. officials said.

The decision to freeze up to about $2 billion in security aid, according to a later estimate by U.S. officials, to a nuclear-armed ally is the latest example of how, nearly a year into Trump's presidency, U.S. officials sometimes have to scurry to turn his tweets into policy. (For a graphic of historical U.S. aid to Pakistan, click here: http://tmsnrt.rs/2DbVEyQ)

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