Washington: US President Donald Trump has appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as acting administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), confirming the de-facto takeover of the humanitarian agency by the State Department.
The news came hours after American tech billionaire Elon Musk, charged with overhauling the federal government, said President Donald Trump had signed off on shutting the agency down.
The US State Department shared a post on X, stating that a review of USAID foreign assistance activities is underway, with the possibility of reorganization.
This move is aimed at ensuring USAID’s activities align with the core national interests of the United States and the “America First” agenda.
“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,” US State Department wrote on X.
It added that as an interim step toward gaining control and better understanding over the agency’s activity, Trump appointed Secretary Marco Rubio as Acting Administrator. In a post on X, Musk wrote, “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.”
"In many cases, USAID is engaged in programs that contradict our national strategy," Rubio, on a visit to El Salvador, told reporters.
Rubio to skip G20 meeting in South AfricaSecretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend an upcoming G20 meeting in South Africa, the top US diplomat said, days after President Donald Trump threatened to cut off funding to the African country. South Africa will host a meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 group of countries from February 20-21 in Johannesburg. "South Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote "solidarity, equality, & sustainability. In other words: DEI and climate change," Rubio said in his post on X, without giving details. |
