WASHINGTON, July 1. /TASS/. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has halted its foreign aid programs, and those that meet Washington's interests are being transferred to the Department of State, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
"As of July 1st, USAID will officially cease to implement foreign assistance. Foreign assistance programs that align with administration policies — and which advance American interests — will be administered by the State Department, where they will be delivered with more accountability, strategy, and efficiency."
According to Rubio, Washington believes that "America’s longstanding commitment to life-saving humanitarian aid and promotion of economic development abroad must be in furtherance of an America First foreign policy." As the Secretary of State emphasized, US taxpayer funds should not be used to "to fund failed governments in faraway lands. Moving forward, our assistance will be targeted and time limited. "
Rubio also noted that the agency previously had "a near-infinite taxpayer budget," but had not achieved significant results after the Cold War. "Development objectives have rarely been met, instability has often worsened, and anti-American sentiment has only grown," he said. As the Secretary of State added, the countries that receive a lot of American aid "usually fail to reciprocate."
The US administration effectively suspended USAID's activities on February 3 at the suggestion of entrepreneur Elon Musk, who until recently oversaw the work of the American department for improving the efficiency of the federal government (DOGE), reducing the bloated state apparatus and combating bureaucracy.
USAID is formally an independent agency, but in reality it works within the State Department.