State Department Terminates Majority of USAID Contracts

March 10, 2025 TruthUSA

The Secretary of State announced the initiative.

On March 10, Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed that the U.S. State Department has terminated approximately 83 percent of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts.

“The 5200 contracts that have been cancelled utilized tens of billions of dollars in ways that neither served, and in some cases even harmed, the fundamental national interests of the United States,” Rubio stated on the social media platform X.

About 1,000 contracts will remain active.

Following the start of his second term, President Donald Trump halted U.S. aid to foreign nations, which includes assistance managed by USAID. He declared that “the policy of the United States is that no further foreign assistance shall be distributed in a manner that is not entirely consistent with the foreign policy of the President of the United States.”

Subsequently, Rubio initiated a review of the contracts to confirm they aligned with U.S. interests.

In February, administration officials reported that Rubio, serving as the acting USAID administrator, had finalized decisions regarding all USAID commitments and annulled nearly 5,800 contracts, while retaining over 500 awards at that time.

A spokesperson for the State Department informed reporters on March 6 that a comprehensive list of all terminated contracts would be made available.

“There will be situations when I will need to get back to you, and this is one of those instances. However, it’s a pertinent question, and I definitely want to provide that information,” spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated.

As of Monday, the agency had not responded to requests for the list by the press deadline.

Under Trump’s leadership, his adviser Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have been collaborating with agencies to identify what officials describe as waste, aiming to reduce government size and enhance efficiency.

Rubio expressed his gratitude on Monday to both DOGE and State Department staff, acknowledging their dedication: “They worked extensive hours to bring about this overdue and significant reform.”

This progress followed reports of a clash between Rubio and Musk at a recent Cabinet meeting. Trump dismissed these claims, calling them fake news and asserting that Musk and Rubio share a strong rapport.

The situation also arises after a federal judge imposed a deadline of the evening of March 10 for the administration to address nearly $2 billion owed to USAID grant recipients. The judge deemed the freeze unconstitutional, mandating payment to the contractors.

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