Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes over as USAID chief

2025-02-03 19:15:18Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes over as USAID chief
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that he will be the head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Rubio made the announcement while being questioned by reporters in El Salvador.

"USAID is not working. It needs to align with U.S. policy. It needs to align with the national interest of the United States," he said. "They're not a global charity, these are taxpayer dollars. People are asking simple questions. What are they doing with the money? We're spending taxpayer money. We owe taxpayers assurances that this is advancing our national interest," Rubio said.

"I'm acting," he said when asked if he was in charge now. "Our goal was to allow our foreign aid for the national interest. It's been 20 or 30 years. They've tried to reform it. This won't continue."

USAID employees were ordered to stay outside the agency's headquarters in Washington on Monday after Elon Musk announced that President Donald Trump had agreed with him to shut down the agency. Thousands of USAID employees had already been laid off and programs had been shut down.


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