U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on Monday that he had been put in charge of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), following claims by Elon Musk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, to dismantle the agency. Rubio described himself as the acting director of USAID during his visit to El Salvador, though he delegated the day-to-day management to a staffer.
Rubio accused USAID of acting independently of the Trump administration’s agenda, which he claimed undermined national strategy. He mentioned that the agency had been operating as if it were a non-governmental organization, with many of its activities conflicting with the administration’s goals. Rubio also pointed out that USAID staff, some of whom had been placed on leave, had been unresponsive to questions about their funding and priorities, describing their behavior as “insubordination.” He made it clear that such actions would no longer be tolerated, and a serious review of the agency’s operations would be carried out.
