Plus some helpful charts and a "cheat sheet" summary attached below FEBRUARY 12, 2026 (Updated MAY 8, 2026) We recently had the privilege of hosting two conversations with some of the leading NGOs and companies working in international development to discuss the State Department’s new rules — Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance (PHFFA) — that expand restrictions on foreign assistance funds related to abortion, gender, and equity. Across both events, a few themes

By MARTHA DYE December 2, 2025 Donors, humanitarian assistance actors, and other aid organizations have long struggled to fund operations in remote, underdeveloped, and conflict-affected regions. In some places, basic banking services are absent. In others, sweeping sanctions regimes and bank “de-risking” practices complicate cross-border transfers and block perfectly legitimate transactions. These problems are intensifying in today’s environment, where sanctions, tariffs, an

November 20, 2025 If you are still receiving U.S. foreign assistance, either as a prime awardee or a sub-awardee, you should be aware of the broad new policy restrictions expected to apply to all non-military foreign assistance by the end of this calendar year. The Mexico City Policy, first introduced by President Reagan in 1984 at a UN conference in Mexico City, expanded on the legal bars on foreign NGOs receiving certain U.S. global health funds from performing or promotin

Image source POLITICO recently featured Mission Driven Counsel LLP in its 'West Wing Playbook' as a key boutique firm launched by former federal attorneys responding to the Trump administration’s overhaul of the U.S. government. The article, “Former DOJ Lawyers Switch Sides,” highlights MDC’s founding by six former USAID lawyers and its mission to help organizations and governments sustain international development and humanitarian programs the administration has sought to