Marco Rubio taking over as acting head of USAID amid agency turmoil

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is being put in charge of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as the Trump administration mulls the future of the agency.

Rubio told reporters traveling with him in El Salvador that he had been made acting director of USAID, which has for decades administered humanitarian and development assistance around the world.

"There are a lot of functions of USAID that are going to continue, that are going to be part of American foreign policy, but it has to be aligned with American foreign policy," Rubio said.

It's unclear whether the move will face legal challenges. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said late last week that any effort to dissolve USAID would be "illegal and against our national interests."

President Trump dismissed the suggestion on Monday that it would require an act of Congress to do away with USAID.

"I don't think so. Not when it comes to fraud. If there's fraud. Those people are lunatics. And, if it comes to fraud you wouldn’t have an act of Congress, and I’m not sure you would anyway," Trump said.

Trump told reporters Sunday that USAID had been run “by radical lunatics, and we're getting them out, and then we'll make a decision." The president previously signed an executive order freezing foreign assistance.

USAID's website was taken offline in recent days, and hundreds of contractors have been laid off amid uncertainty about the agency's future.

Elon Musk, a top Trump ally who has been tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, has for days been railing against USAID on social media; on Monday, he called the agency “a radical-left political psy op.”

Democrats and former diplomats have been warning against dismantling USAID. Those officials have pointed to the lifesaving assistance the agency helps provide around the world, and how that aid boosts America’s position on the global stage.

“USAID helps strengthen our nation’s reputation, showcasing our power and our values,” Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), who previously served at the agency, posted on the social platform X. “Trump admin is now doing extraordinary damage to our reputation not just in trying to stop USAID’s work but by denigrating the mission of humanitarian and development assistance as a whole.”

“Their vindictive way of trying to shut down USAID sends signals all over the world that we are a nation at war with itself,” Kim added. “It tells authoritarian adversaries that America is distracted and divided.”

— Updated at 2:07 p.m. EST

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