Secretary Of State Marco Rubio Announces Cancellation Of 83% Of USAID’s Foreign Aid Contracts After Fighting With Elon Musk

In a post on the social media platform X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that approximately 5,200 foreign aid contracts under the United States Agency of International Development (USAID) have been canceled. This accounts for a staggering 83% of the original 6,200 programs run by USAID.

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“The 5200 contracts that are now canceled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States,” Rubio wrote in his post. He added that the remaining programs would “be administered more effectively under the State Department,” and that he expressed gratitude to DOGE, Elon Musk’s government agency, saying that its staff “worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform.” 

Rubio’s praise for DOGE follows a tense exchange between him and Musk on March 6, in which Rubio expressed resentment at the billionaire for having too much power over government contracts and policy decisions. The recent cuts, however, and Rubio’s praise suggest a shift in their dynamic, with Rubio now crediting Musk’s role in dismantling USAID’s programs.

>READ MORE: RUBIO ANNOUNCES CANCELLATION OF 83% OF USAID FOREIGN AID

These cuts come in the wake of President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 commitment to freezing foreign aid. As a result, most of USAID’s employees have either been laid off or put on leave. The decision to halt these aid programs has already drawn widespread criticism, and experts warn of severe global repercussions.

According to a ProPublica article published before the cuts, the end of U.S. foreign aid is expected to have devastating consequences for vulnerable communities worldwide. An estimated one million children will forgo critical malnutrition treatment, up to 166,000 people could die from malaria and countless others will face severe health crises. The State Department has not disclosed exactly which programs were canceled and which were spared. The lack of transparency has fueled further backlash.