Marco Rubio Takes Over Embattled USAID, Vows Big Changes to ‘Completely Unresponsive Agency’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently announced his new role as the acting director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He expressed frustration with the agency, citing its perceived lack of responsiveness to policy directives from the State Department. Rubio emphasized that moving forward,the agency’s operations will be aligned with U.S. national interests rather than functioning as an autonomous global charity, which he claims has been its tendency based on historical actions.
Rubio articulated that taxpayer dollars should directly support initiatives enhancing national interests, countering what he described as USAID’s apolitical stance. He noted past attempts by lawmakers over several decades to reform the agency without success due to a lack of transparency and cooperation from USAID officials.
In a broader context,during the proclamation,there were references to past funding choices by USAID that have drawn criticism,including financial support for diversity,equity,and inclusion initiatives abroad that he felt were unnecessary and unrelated to U.S. interests.
The announcement coincided with ongoing discussions regarding potential changes within the agency, amid statements from prominent figures including Elon Musk, who labeled USAID a ”criminal organization” and expressed intentions to scrutinize its financial practices. The current political climate around foreign aid is heated, reflecting deeper divides on the direction of U.S. foreign policy.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday that he has taken over as acting director of the United States Agency for International Development.
“My frustration with USAID goes back to my time in Congress. It’s a completely unresponsive agency, it’s supposed to respond to policy directives of the state department and it refuses to do so,” he explained.
The agency was created during the Kennedy administration in 1961 to distribute global humanitarian aid. It is to receive its overall policy guidance from the secretary of state.
“There are a lot of functions of USAID that are going to continue, that are going to be part of American foreign policy, but it has to be aligned with American foreign policy,” Rubio said.
“Every dollar we spend will be aligned with the national interest of the United States. USAID has a history of ignoring that and deciding that they’re a global charity, separate from the national interest,” the secretary added.
.@SecRubio in El Salvador: “I’m the acting director of USAID. I’ve delegated that authority to someone…” pic.twitter.com/dabJ41IyxC
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 3, 2025
“These are not donor dollars, these are taxpayer dollars, and we owe the American people the assurance that every dollar we are spending abroad is being spent on something that furthers our national interest,” Rubio said.
The former Florida senator recounted that for the past 20 to 30 years lawmakers have tried to reform USAID, but the agency refuses to cooperate nor be transparent with Congress.
Rubio said USAID’s answer has always been that it is apolitical, but he argued that American foreign policy is not apolitical, and he intends to further the interests of the U.S.
“If someone wants to spend apolitical dollars, they should spend private dollars. Go start a charity and you can fund anyone you want,” the secretary contended.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt listed some of the recent items USAID tax dollars have funded in recent years including, $1.5 million to advance DEI in Serbia’s workplaces, $70,000 for a production of a DEI musical in Ireland, $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia, and $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru.”
“I don’t know about you, but as an American taxpayer, I don’t want my dollars going towards this crap!” Leavitt said.
🔥 SHE BROUGHT THE RECEIPTS!@PressSec lists some of the “waste and abuse” at USAID that @elonmusk and DOGE have been working on eliminating:
– $1.5 million to advance DEI in Serbia’s workplaces
– $70,000 for a production of a DEI musical in Ireland
– $47,000 for a transgender… pic.twitter.com/a0zY8tUlc5— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 3, 2025
Over the weekend, workers with Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency sought access to USAID files, including some classified, to determine how the agency is spending money, Reuters reported.
“Katie Miller, a DOGE spokesperson, said on social media platform X that no classified material was accessed without proper security clearances,” the news outlet noted.
Musk posted Sunday on X, “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” and called it a “criminal organization” that should die.
Exactly https://t.co/w93Y5NC6PG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2025
He also reposted a video of Trump saying regarding USAID, “I love the concept, but they turned out to be radical left lunatics. The concept of it is good but it’s all about the people.”
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