Breaking Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that 83 percent of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs, or 5,200 contracts, will be terminated. Additionally, the remaining initiatives and approximately 1,000 contracts will be administered by the State Department.
“The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States,” Rubio said on X.
“In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18% of programs we are keeping (approximately 1000) to now be administered more effectively under the State Department.”
Rubio was personally involved in the review process for USAID grants, the State Department said in an internal memo which noted that the cuts to 5,800 multi-year USAID projects are worth an estimated $54 billion.
“In response, State and USAID moved abruptly to complete the programmatic evaluation — lifting [stop-work orders] for some programs and terminating others,” according to the memo.
Rubio did not specify which USAID programs the State Department would begin managing, but the memo said food assistance initiatives and healthcare programs such as medical treatments for tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria would be kept in place.
“Rubio’s review of USAID grants was part of State’s broader review of U.S. foreign aid that President Trump ordered at the start of his term. The State Department identified approximately $60 billion of foreign aid cuts in total during its ongoing review process” reports National Review.
Spot On! Mr. Rubio. Thanks for your exceptional, outstanding capabilities as our Secretary of State – in
this regard and in all other arenas of your influence and responsibilities! You are a great asset to this Administration
and to all Citizens of The United States of America!