Today at 14:21
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that foreign aid should advance U.S. interests rather than serve as charity and assured that the Donald Trump administration does not intend to halt all international aid.
He made these remarks during a briefing in Costa Rica.
Rubio emphasized that the U.S. had frozen foreign aid to review and adjust it to ensure it “benefits partners,” while the exemption mechanism allows for the continuation of critically necessary projects worldwide.
He assured that he continues to support foreign aid.
“But foreign aid is not charity. It exists to advance the national interests of the United States. Every dollar we spend, as long as I am Secretary of State and President Trump is in the White House, will be a dollar that advances our national interests,” the Secretary stated.
According to him, prior to the freeze, the Trump administration could not obtain information about some programs, as USAID “refused to disclose anything.”
“They wouldn’t tell us where the money was going, who it was for, who had it, or which contractor was involved—in some cases, the funds passed through four different contractors before reaching the recipients. These aren’t my figures. These are USAID’s numbers,” he said.
Rubio added that, in some cases, only 10–12–13% of USAID funds, or “perhaps even less,” actually reached the recipients, while the rest was spent on overhead costs and bureaucracy.
“This isn’t my money. This is taxpayers’ money. So, we’re not going to abandon foreign aid. We’re going to have foreign aid that makes sense. We’ll have foreign aid that works,” he assured.
In the Trump administration, Elon Musk is leading efforts to shut down USAID, issuing increasingly harsh criticisms against the agency. On Monday, February 3, agency employees were instructed to stay home.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has assumed the role of Acting Head of USAID.
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