As Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrapped up his first diplomatic travels, he quickly found himself with some expanded responsibilities. Rubio made news with negotiations in Panama, but then he announced the new interim director for the suddenly controversial US Agency for International Development (USAID). The chief US foreign policy leader has decided that if the United States wants its aid to be distributed in a manner consistent with US foreign policy, he would do it himself.
Numerous secretaries of state and presidents have tried to get the USAID under control, but with President Donald Trump at the helm and the chief foreign policy executive leading the charge, the agency may finally be managed in a way more consistent with America's international development objectives.
Rubio Will Manage and Direct USAID
Over the years, the rogue agency has assumed an independence not envisioned when it was established. In an interview with Real Clear Politics, Mike Benz, founder of the Foundation for Freedom Online, explained: "What is USAID? When people hear the name USAID, they focus on ‘aid,’ they focus on thinking like it's humanitarian work. But 'aid' is not actually in the name of US AID. USAID stands for the 'United States Agency for International Development,' not aid; it's not a charity." What has happened is that even the notion of "aid" has been lost. USAID is nothing more than a funnel for US taxpayers' hard-earned dollars to be wasted on third-party non-governmental organizations that neither aid the intended recipients nor further the foreign policy goals of the United States.
Secretary Rubio explained in an interview with Fox News:
"They have basically evolved into an agency that believes that they're not even a US Government agency, that they're a global charity, that they take the taxpayer money, and they spend it as a global charity irrespective of whether it is in the national interest or not in the national interest. One of the most common complaints you will get if you go to embassies around the world from State Department officials and ambassadors and the like is USAID is not only not cooperative … They are supporting programs that upset the host government."
Rubio went on to say that his goal was initially to attempt to reform the agency; however, now there is "rank insubordination" in an organization that fundamentally doesn't believe it works for the US government and instead answers to a global imperative. Worse, USAID officials, in acts of arrogance difficult to fathom, have actively attempted to prevent Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) representatives from accessing data on how it is spending its funding. After the DOGE officials threatened to call in federal marshals, and the USAID director of security and his number two were put on administrative leave, DOGE examiners gained access to the information they sought. Such hubris on the part of civil servants is shocking, but all too predictable.
As Americans have come to expect, the liberals and progressives squealed in horror that one of its favored propaganda machines had come under scrutiny. "The lawmakers gathered outside the main office of the USAID in downtown Washington on February 3 to criticize what they called an 'illegal maneuver' by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has been tasked by President Donald Trump with downsizing the government," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. But what the progressive crowd can't come to grips with is that USAID is an agency of the executive branch of government. An executive order by President John F. Kennedy created it, and an executive order can reorganize it.
USAID Funds Enemies
Of the approximately 130 countries to which USAID provides assistance, "The top 10 recipients of USAID-managed funds in FY2023 were, in descending order of funding, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Syria," according to a 2025 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, “US Agency for International Development: An Overview.” The question begged is what US foreign policy goals can be achieved by giving US taxpayer dollars to Yemen, Afghanistan, and Syria, where terrorists and organizations whose purpose is inimical to the United States no doubt get the money.
According to the CRS, "USAID Administrator Samantha Power has repeatedly cited diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) as agency priorities." The divisive DEIA programs, which many might even call racist, are contrary to the Trump administration's emphasis on establishing a meritocracy within the federal government. Congressional leaders interested in government stewardship of taxpayers' dollars are not happy with USAID, either. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) told Fox News Digital, "USAID's spending shows a blatant disregard for the wishes of American taxpayers, and it is time to disrupt the system. The agency has been wasting millions of tax dollars on things like tourism in Lebanon, Sesame Street in Iraq, sending Ukrainians to Paris Fashion Week, and so much more."
In a Feb. 5 letter to Secretary Rubio, Ernst explained, "In response to my concerns, USAID has acted in an unacceptably deceptive and egregious manner. The agency's attempts to thwart congressional oversight amount to exactly the type of gaslighting that the American people despise most and see so frequently from Washington."
There is a new zeal in the nation’s capital to hold bureaucrats accountable and conscientiously spend Americans' tax dollars. It seems impossible that liberals and progressives would quibble with that – but they do.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.
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