State Department adds new foreign-aid grant term targeting “discriminatory equity ideology”

The U.S. Department of State is creating a new award term called “Combating Discriminatory Equity Ideology in Foreign Assistance.” The term will be added to some grants, cooperative agreements, and voluntary contributions used for U.S. foreign assistance.

According to the Federal Register notice, the goal is to ensure U.S. foreign assistance does not support the promotion of “discriminatory equity ideology” overseas, either directly or indirectly. The award term is designed to apply to a range of partners, including foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), U.S. NGOs, international organizations, foreign governments, and parastatals.

The notice says this change is being made under existing foreign assistance authorities, including the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and other laws that allow the Department to attach terms and conditions to foreign aid awards as determined by the President and, by delegation, the Secretary of State.

For the official source, see the Federal Register notice: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/01/27/2026-01517/combating-discriminatory-equity-ideology-in-foreign-assistance-rules