Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that White House budget director Russ Vought would oversee the “closeout” of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which came under intense scrutiny and has been dismantled by the Trump administration.
“I joked with @POTUS that I had four jobs. He told me to give one to my friend @RussVought47. So I did,” Rubio, who has also been tasked to serve as acting national security adviser and acting archivist, posted on X.
“Since January, we’ve saved the taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. And with a small set of core programs moved over to the State Department, USAID is officially in close out mode,” Rubio added. “Russ is now at the helm to oversee the closeout of an agency that long ago went off the rails.”
Vought is an outspoken fiscal hawk who has been at the forefront of efforts by the Trump administration to pause or clawback funding that does not align with President Trump’s agenda, including money allocated to USAID.
USAID was one of the main targets of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) earlier this year. Musk and Trump claimed USAID was rife with fraud and provided funding to efforts overseas that did not benefit U.S. taxpayers. Thousands of employees were fired or placed on leave.
Rubio folded USAID into the State Department earlier this year. On July 1, he announced the agency had officially ceased operations.
Staff and supporters of the agency, however, contend that while it may have needed some reforms, it served a critical function.
It provided food assistance and medical care, while also investing in education and economic programs to stabilize countries, reduce migration and combat the influence of terrorist organizations.
