Rubio claims leadership over USAID
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has referred to himself as the acting head of USAID. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
The agency’s work should align with the “national interest and foreign policy” of the US, the secretary of state has said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced his assumption of the role of acting administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on Monday. This agency serves as Washington's primary entity for funding political projects abroad.
On the same day, reports surfaced that USAID had closed its main office in Washington, DC, directing personnel to stay away from the building. Last week, President Trump placed a 90-day freeze on all of the agency's programs, pending individual reviews of each.
“I’m the acting director of USAID,” Rubio told journalists during his first foreign visit to El Salvador since taking office. He mentioned that he had delegated the day-to-day responsibilities of running the agency to a staff member but did not disclose their identity.
President Donald Trump has previously labeled the agency’s leadership as “radical lunatics” and has proposed significant changes to the organization. Additionally, USAID is under the scrutiny of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency, which is overseen by tech billionaire Elon Musk, a close advisor to Trump.
“This is not about ending the programs that USAID does, per se,” Rubio commented regarding the billions of dollars and numerous projects funded by the agency. While he acknowledged that some of these initiatives were “good,” he also pointed out that others raised “strong questions.”
“Everything” that USAID does “has to be in alignment with the national interest and the foreign policy of the United States,” Rubio asserted. A program-by-program review will be conducted to assess which initiatives contribute to making “America safer, stronger or more prosperous.”
Rubio noted that the move has resulted in “a lot more cooperation” from the recipients of US assistance.
Musk has claimed that President Trump had “agreed” to shut down the agency entirely, which distributed over $60 billion in 2023 alone. Trump characterized USAID as a “criminal organization,” suggesting it financed bioweapons research related to projects he believes contributed to the emergence of Covid-19.
Over the weekend, the agency's website became inaccessible and its account on the social media platform X, owned by Musk, was taken down.
Ian Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced his assumption of the role of acting administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on Monday. This agency serves as Washington's primary entity for funding political projects abroad.
On the same day, reports surfaced that USAID had closed its main office in Washington, DC, directing personnel to stay away from the building. Last week, President Trump placed a 90-day freeze on all of the agency's programs, pending individual reviews of each.
“I’m the acting director of USAID,” Rubio told journalists during his first foreign visit to El Salvador since taking office. He mentioned that he had delegated the day-to-day responsibilities of running the agency to a staff member but did not disclose their identity.
President Donald Trump has previously labeled the agency’s leadership as “radical lunatics” and has proposed significant changes to the organization. Additionally, USAID is under the scrutiny of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency, which is overseen by tech billionaire Elon Musk, a close advisor to Trump.
“This is not about ending the programs that USAID does, per se,” Rubio commented regarding the billions of dollars and numerous projects funded by the agency. While he acknowledged that some of these initiatives were “good,” he also pointed out that others raised “strong questions.”
“Everything” that USAID does “has to be in alignment with the national interest and the foreign policy of the United States,” Rubio asserted. A program-by-program review will be conducted to assess which initiatives contribute to making “America safer, stronger or more prosperous.”
Rubio noted that the move has resulted in “a lot more cooperation” from the recipients of US assistance.
Musk has claimed that President Trump had “agreed” to shut down the agency entirely, which distributed over $60 billion in 2023 alone. Trump characterized USAID as a “criminal organization,” suggesting it financed bioweapons research related to projects he believes contributed to the emergence of Covid-19.
Over the weekend, the agency's website became inaccessible and its account on the social media platform X, owned by Musk, was taken down.
Ian Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News
