In one of the most sweeping overhauls of U.S. foreign aid policy in modern history, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday that 83% of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs have been canceled following a six-week review. The move, part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to eliminate deep-state influence in government institutions, effectively terminates more than 5,200 USAID contracts that had been draining tens of billions in taxpayer dollars.
Rubio took to social media to explain the decision, making it clear that these programs were not only wasteful but, in some cases, actively harmful to U.S. national interests:
“After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID. The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States.”
Rubio added that the remaining 18% of USAID programs (approximately 1,000 contracts) will be restructured and administered more effectively under the State Department in consultation with Congress.
For years, USAID has operated with little accountability, spending billions in taxpayer dollars on projects that have little to do with American interests. Just a glimpse of where this money has been going is enough to raise serious questions:
- “Gender-affirming health care” in Guatemala
- Teaching people in Kazakhstan to fight back against Internet trolls
- Funding voluntary male circumcisions in Mozambique
- Creating job opportunities for young LGBTQI+ individuals in Serbia
These are the types of projects that have drained USAID’s annual $72 billion budget, all while America’s own infrastructure crumbles and veterans struggle to get basic healthcare.
One of the most egregious examples? The $3 billion the U.S. has funneled to Mexico since 2008 to “combat drug cartels”—yet the cartels have only grown more powerful, with fentanyl and other narcotics flooding U.S. communities at record rates. American taxpayers have essentially paid Mexico to do nothing while the drug crisis spirals out of control.
This overhaul isn’t just about cutting wasteful contracts—it’s about reshaping the very structure of USAID itself. Thousands of bureaucrats tied to these programs are losing their jobs as part of a long-overdue reduction in force.
Initially, 2,000 USAID employees were set to be cut, but after further review, that number was revised to 1,600 U.S.-based positions being eliminated. Many overseas direct-hire staffers were placed on administrative leave—a move that left-wing media immediately decried, only to have a Trump-appointed judge confirm that the administration has full legal authority to conduct these reviews and staff reductions.
