US Secretary of State announces takeover of USAID 'soft power' tool
Feb 04, 2025
Washington [US], February 4: On February 3, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he would take over as acting director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) after news broke that the agency's headquarters in Washington, DC, had closed.
"I am now the acting director of USAID ," Reuters quoted the US Secretary of State as saying during a visit to Salvador on February 4. He also said he had handed over the day-to-day coordination tasks of USAID to a subordinate, but did not say who that person was.
"This is not about ending the programs that USAID has in place," Rubio said, adding that some of the programs are good, but others raise questions that need to be addressed.
The US Secretary of State also affirmed that all USAID programs must be consistent with US national interests and foreign policy. Mr. Rubio did not mention any specific changes he wanted to make to the agency.
For his part, billionaire Elon Musk, co-head of the Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE), previously said that President Donald Trump agreed to close USAID. The new owner of the White House also called USAID a "criminal organization", which he believes facilitated the research of biological weapons, thereby leading to the emergence of Covid-19.
Established in 1961, USAID is the agency that demonstrates America's soft power by distributing billions of dollars each year to development programs around the world.
Last week, Mr. Trump ordered a freeze on all USAID programs for 90 days, resulting in the deactivation of the USAID website and X account. On February 2, the headquarters in Washington, DC, closed.
In other developments, President Trump on February 3 assigned new Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to take over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Mr. Bessent immediately froze all operations of the agency, according to Reuters.
On the same day, employees of the US Agency for International Development were blocked from entering its headquarters in Washington after the Trump administration announced steps to close the agency.
In addition, the Trump administration will also take steps to stop funding the Department of Education , with plans to be implemented in December.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
