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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that he had taken over the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as interim head to eliminate “insubordination” in the agency. This was reported by The New York Times.
“I’m the acting director of USAID,” Rubio told reporters, explaining that the agency had not responded to the new Donald Trump administration’s requests for funding and priorities. “This level of insubordination makes it impossible to have a serious review of the work. It has to stop,” he stressed.
According to him, USAID acts as if it were an “independent non-governmental organisation”, which is a concern for the administration.
Meanwhile, billionaire Elon Musk, who is spearheading Trump’s initiatives to downsize the federal government, said on Monday that he is working to close USAID. According to Reuters, the day before, two senior agency officials were suspended after they tried to prevent representatives of the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), created by Musk, from gaining access to restricted areas of the USAID building.
USAID is the largest donor in the world. In fiscal year 2023, the agency allocated $72 billion to support international programmes, including the fight against HIV/AIDS, access to clean water, energy security, and anti-corruption efforts. In 2024, USAID covered 42% of the humanitarian aid coordinated by the UN.
