Rubio called himself the "acting director of USAID" during a meeting with journalists while visiting El Salvador. He also stated that the agency is acting irresponsibly, that its activities do not align with the national interests of the United States, and that a review by American authorities is necessary. Rubio noted that there is no talk of completely abolishing the agency.
The Secretary of State clarified that day-to-day oversight of the agency has been handed over to one of the State Department employees.
The USAID headquarters in Washington was closed on Monday. Its staff received an email instructing them to stay home.
President Donald Trump reportedly said, according to CNN: "They [the USAID agency] are run by a handful of radical lunatics, and we will get rid of them and then make a decision."
Rubio's statement followed remarks from billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading the reform of the federal government. Musk claims that Trump has already allegedly made a principled decision to eliminate USAID.
In turn, the funds of Boris Zimin and Mikhail Khodorkovsky announced a support program for Russian-speaking projects that have temporarily lost funding due to the State Department's decision to freeze foreign aid programs. Entrepreneurs offered support for media, human rights, and analytical projects, as well as humanitarian initiatives operating in Ukraine.
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