Rubio Defends USAID Closure as State Department Proves Critics Wrong

When the Biden-era deep-state leftovers and career bureaucrats cried doom over the closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Senator Marco Rubio stood firm. Now, months later, after the State Department delivered a swift and effective response to Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean, it’s clear the sky didn’t fall. In fact, the move may be one of the most practical shake-ups in U.S. foreign aid in decades.

Rubio, now Secretary of State, slammed the "alarmists" who predicted catastrophe after the agency was shuttered in July.

“Alarmists in politics and the media forecasted that the closure of USAID would result in catastrophe. Now, nearly a year later, they’ve been proven wrong,” Rubio said.

The Left panicked. Bernie Sanders claimed the restructuring would "lead to millions of preventable deaths." Democrats in Congress insisted the move would spike maternal and child mortality. Barack Obama even popped back up to call the decision “a colossal mistake.” But facts don’t lie.

After Hurricane Melissa a record-breaking Category 5 storm devastated Jamaica, it was the new, streamlined State Department that delivered. Among its rapid response actions:

• Deployed regional Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DART) and U.S.-based Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) units.

• Allocated $1 million in immediate relief funds using prepositioned supplies from 12 warehouses across the region.

• Partnered with the UN’s World Food Program to distribute 5,000 family food packs directly to those in need.

Rubio credits the restructuring with removing bloated inefficiencies, cutting unnecessary pet projects, and putting American strategic interests at the center of foreign aid.

“This new era of foreign assistance eliminates extreme ideological projects... and puts the American people first,” Rubio said.

And he’s not wrong. A 2024 internal audit revealed that USAID had been throwing taxpayer dollars at woke nonsense, including:

• $1.5 million for a DEI program in Serbia’s business sector.

• $70,000 to fund a DEI-themed musical production in Ireland.

That’s what the Left was trying to preserve a pipeline of U.S. dollars funding vanity projects overseas in the name of “progress.” No wonder the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) flagged USAID for shutdown.

Meanwhile, the State Department continues to overhaul foreign aid to actually serve American interests. Its America First Global Health Strategy, launched in September, now ensures U.S. health assistance goes directly to governments not bloated NGOs. Kenya became the first to sign on, entering into a $2.5 billion Health Cooperation Framework in December.

Rubio's overhaul marks the largest State Department restructuring since the Cold War. And while the usual suspects in Washington wail, the rest of the country can see the truth: cutting bureaucratic waste and putting America first actually works.

The days of writing blank checks to corrupt NGOs and international grifters are over. Instead, we’re seeing targeted, effective foreign aid that aligns with national interests delivered faster and with better results.

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