Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP, File
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Monday that the Trump administration has completed its six-week overhaul of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a key agency that has been in operation for six decades. Rubio stated that the 18% of aid and development programs that survived the purge will now be overseen by the State Department.
The announcement was made via a post on X, marking one of Rubio’s rare public statements on the significant shift away from U.S. foreign aid and development, which has been implemented by political appointees under Trump and government efficiency teams led by Elon Musk.
In his post, Rubio expressed gratitude to DOGE and acknowledged the “hardworking staff” who contributed long hours to bring about what he called “this overdue and historic reform” in foreign aid.
On January 20, President Donald Trump issued an executive order halting foreign assistance funding and initiating a review of the tens of billions of dollars spent on U.S. aid and development projects abroad. Trump had criticized foreign assistance as wasteful and as advancing a liberal agenda.
Rubio’s post on Monday declared that the review had now officially concluded, with approximately 5,200 out of 6,200 USAID programs being eliminated.
He explained that many of these programs “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.”
“In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18% of programs to be administered more effectively under the State Department,” Rubio continued. However, Democratic lawmakers and critics argue that the shutdown of congressionally-funded programs is illegal, requiring congressional approval to proceed.
Earlier this month, in one of several lawsuits surrounding the rapid dismantling of USAID, the State Department claimed it was eliminating over 90% of USAID’s programs. Rubio’s post did not provide an explanation for the discrepancy, nor did it offer specifics on which programs would remain or how the State Department would manage them.
The dismantling of USAID represents a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy, undoing decades of established policy where humanitarian and development aid were seen as tools to advance U.S. national security by stabilizing regions, strengthening alliances, and building goodwill abroad.
In the aftermath of Trump’s executive order, some of his appointees, including Pete Marocco, and Musk’s teams, implemented drastic measures. These included placing USAID staff members around the world on forced leave, firing them, halting USAID payments, and terminating thousands of aid and development contracts.
As a result, efforts ranging from epidemic control to famine prevention, as well as job and democracy training, were abruptly halted. Numerous aid organizations and USAID partners had to lay off tens of thousands of workers both domestically and internationally.
Lawsuits filed by nonprofit groups and businesses that had partnered with USAID argue that the sudden terminations of contracts violated their terms and left these organizations without billions of dollars in payments. Many USAID staff members and contractors, still working abroad, are also left waiting for reimbursement for travel expenses and overdue payments.