Trump administration suspends all security assistance to Pakistan
The Trump administration is suspending all security assistance to Pakistan, the State Department announced on Thursday.
The State Department said the freeze will be in effect until Pakistan takes a "decisive action" against terrorist groups such as the Taliban and the Haqqani network. The announcement comes after President Trump tweeted earlier this week that the U.S. pays Pakistan "billions of dollars" for "nothing," and questioned why the U.S. should make such payments to Pakistan and other countries.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Thursday this shouldn't be a surprise to Pakistan, since there were ongoing conversations between the U.S. and Pakistan about what they needed to do. The suspension isn't permanent. Nauert did not say if Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Pakistani officials to give the news himself.
The State Department couldn't offer dollar figures on the suspended aid yet, and there may be exceptions on a case-by-case basis.
Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, said Tuesday that the U.S. would withhold $255 million in military assistance to Pakistan, but the suspension announced Thursday includes broader assistance.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, said on Twitter Thursday he is going to introduce a bill to end aid to Pakistan, and use money that would have gone there for an infrastructure fund for U.S. roads and bridges.
CBS News' Margaret Brennan, Kylie Atwood and Kathryn Watson contributed to this report
