Key points
- Trump has appointed Rubio as Acting Administrator
- USAID’s website went dark over the weekend
- USAID had projects in around 130 countries in 2023
WASHINGTON: The US State Department has said that USAID fundings are not aligned with the national interests of the United States.
In a statement via X, the State Department said, “The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has long strayed from its original mission of responsibly advancing American interests abroad, and it is now abundantly clear that significant portions of USAID funding are not aligned with the core national interests of the United States.”
It said that as an interim step toward gaining control and a better understanding over the agency’s activity, President Donald Trump appointed Secretary Marco Rubio as Acting Administrator.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has long strayed from its original mission of responsibly advancing American interests abroad, and it is now abundantly clear that significant portions of USAID funding are not aligned with the core national interests…
— Department of State (@StateDept) February 3, 2025
The statement maintained, “Secretary Rubio has also now notified Congress that a review of USAID’s foreign assistance activities is underway with an eye towards potential reorganization. As we evaluate USAID and ensure it is in alignment with an America First agenda and the efforts of the State Department, we will continue to protect the American people’s interests and ensure their tax dollars are not wasted.”
Appointed Rubio as Acting Administrator
AFP reported that United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he had been put in charge of the US aid agency, saying he would stop its “insubordination” to President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Rubio confirmed he and the State Department had assumed control of the autonomous body.
“I’m the acting director of USAID,” Rubio told reporters on a visit to El Salvador, although he said he was delegating day-to-day duties to a staffer.
Rubio, who supported foreign assistance as a senator, said that many of USAID’s functions would continue but accused it of acting as if it were an “independent non-governmental entity.”
“In many cases, USAID is involved in programs that run counter to what we’re trying to do with our national strategy,” he said.
“It’s been 20 or 30 years that people have tried to reform it,” he said.
Rubio accused USAID professionals, many of whom have been put on leave, of failing to answer questions by the new Trump administration on their funding and priorities, AFP reported.
“That level of insubordination makes it impossible to conduct a sort of serious review,” he said. “It’s going to stop and it’s going to end.” With input from AFP.
