As USAID stops foreign aid, Rubio says future US assistance will be limited

2/7/2025 6:25

The U.S. Agency for International Development will on Tuesday officially stop implementing foreign aid, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, adding that America's assistance in the future will be targeted and limited.



In a statement marking the transfer of USAID to the State Department as part of President Donald Trump's unprecedented push to shrink the federal government, Rubio said the U.S. was abandoning what he called a charity-based model and would focus on empowering countries to grow sustainably.



"We will favor those nations that have demonstrated both the ability and willingness to help themselves and will target our resources to areas where they can have a multiplier effect and catalyze durable private sector, including American companies, and global investment," the top U.S. diplomat wrote.



This new model, he wrote, would prioritize trade over aid and investment over assistance, adding it would put Washington in a stronger place to counter Beijing.