US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced today that he is taking over as acting administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, known as USAID, confirming that the State Department has effectively taken over this previously independent federal agency for providing humanitarian assistance, CNN reports.
Just a few hours earlier, Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, who has been entrusted with reshaping the federal government, announced that United States President (US) Donald Trump had agreed to shut down USAID.
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Rubio, who is in El Salvador, stated that the functioning of USAID must be in accordance with US foreign policy, to which it is "completely unresponsive," and added that he is currently the acting head of USAID, but has delegated authority to another person with whom he is in contact.
As the previous acting head of the agency was Jason Gray, CNN asked the State Department if he was the person Rubio mentioned. Asked about the arguments that USAID's work is vital to national security and promotes American interests, Rubio replied: "There are things that USAID does, that we do through USAID, that we should continue to do, and that we will continue to do."
However, he added that "everything they do must be consistent with the national interest and foreign policy of the United States."
"This is not, per se, about cutting off the programs that USAID is doing, but that there are things that it is doing well, and that there are things that are very questionable to us," Rubio said.
USAID, an agency founded in the 1960s, has been a target of Trump and Musk's attempts to reform the federal government. Trump and his allies say the agency, which was created by Congress as an independent body, is too partisan - a claim that opposition Democrats now reject, arguing that Trump lacks the authority to dismantle USAID.
Trump claimed today that he does not need Congress to disband it, adding that it is staffed by madmen and that it went crazy during the previous administration, namely under former US President Joseph Biden.
"They've gone completely crazy with what they're doing, giving money to people who shouldn't get it," he told reporters at the White House, announcing a report on all this - "at the appropriate time."
Asked why he supported USAID during his first presidential term (2017-2021), Trump said he liked its concept, but not the way it carried out its mission.
"It turned out that they are radical leftist lunatics. And the concept (of the agency) is good, but it's all about the people," he added.
US Democratic Party lawmakers reacted angrily to the Trump administration's moves and announced a fight for USAID's survival in court.
A crowd gathered outside USAID headquarters, where Democrats held a press conference. The building was closed and employees were ordered to stay home.
Senator Chris Van Hollen said that closing USAID by presidential order is completely illegal and added: "Elon Musk may be the dictator of Tesla. And he can try to play the dictator here in Washington, but he can't close USAID."
Senator Chris Murphy assessed that what is happening with USAID is a constitutional crisis.
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