Workers at the U.S. Agency for International Development are bracing for a loss of its independent status and sweeping layoffs as President Trump continues slashing foreign aid.

Many of the frozen programs are aimed at alleviating disease and malnutrition, but even security programs with U.S. funding are shutting down.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s orders could force many groups working on global aid to stop their programs. And the White House has approved sending more 2,000-pound bombs to Israel.

The departures are common when a transition takes place, but it is now happening more quickly and on a larger scale than under previous administrations, a U.S. official said.

Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, said in an interview that “we’ve just stuck with our theory, which is managed competition.” Trump and Xi Jinping might have other plans.

President Biden and his team saw China as the one nation with the intent and capability to displace American primacy — and crafted policies to defend U.S. power.

President Biden’s longtime aide rallied scores of nations to defend Ukraine, but then became a villain to the many critics of U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Mr. Rubio expressed views aligned with those of most senators who work on foreign policy, while taking care not to break from Donald J. Trump’s unorthodox ideas.

As the country’s top diplomat, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who has a special interest in Latin America, would be tasked with navigating Donald Trump’s efforts to expand U.S. influence.

The loose arrangement of hostile powers could pose a series of conundrums for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state.

In Paris, the two officials acknowledged potential strains on alliances with the return of Donald J. Trump to power, but said their countries would try to maintain strong ties.

The U.S. secretary of state aimed to show that his country stood by South Korea as it grapples with a political crisis, and as Donald J. Trump returns to power.

The arms transfer could be the final one the Biden administration provides to Israel. President Biden has largely ignored critics of Israel’s war in Gaza who have urged a halt to weapons aid.