US State Secretary Rubio confirms takeover of USAID, promises to end 'insubordination'

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday he had been put in charge of the U.S. aid agency, saying he would stop its "insubordination" to President Donald Trump's agenda.

After Trump's billionaire friend and advisor Elon Musk vowed to destroy the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), whose website went dark over the weekend, Rubio confirmed he and the State Department had assumed control of the autonomous body.

"I'm the acting director of USAID," Rubio told reporters on a visit to El Salvador, although he said he was delegating day-to-day duties to a staffer.

Rubio, who supported foreign assistance as a senator, said that many of USAID's functions would continue but accused it of acting as if it were an "independent non-governmental entity."

"In many cases, USAID is involved in programs that run counter to what we're trying to do with our national strategy," he said.

"It's been 20 or 30 years that people have tried to reform it," he said.

Rubio accused USAID professionals, many of whom have been put on leave, of failing to answer questions by the new Trump administration on their funding and priorities.

"That level of insubordination makes it impossible to conduct a sort of serious review," he said. "It's going to stop, and it's going to end."

AFP