US Officially Closes 83% Of USAID Programs

• 10.03.2025, 17:06

Secretary of State Rubio called them “useless and harmful”.

After a 6-week audit by the DOGE, the US authorities decided to keep funding for about 1,000 USAID programs, which is 17 percent of their total. They will be managed directly by the State Department, DW reports.

Washington is canceling 83 percent of the programs of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday, March 10.

“Within the 5,200 contracts that are now being canceled, dozens of billions of dollars were spent not in the national interest of the United States (and in some cases even contrary to it),” he wrote on X.

According to Rubio, the remaining USAID programs will be managed by the State Department.

“Working with Congress, we intend to ensure that the remaining 18% (Rubio probably meant 17% — editorial note) of programs (about 1,000) that we are retaining are now more effectively managed by the State Department,” added the US Secretary of State, calling the reform of US foreign aid “historic” and thanking the US Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), unofficially headed by billionaire Elon Musk, for its participation.

USAID is responsible for managing civilian overseas aid and development cooperation. The annual budget of this independent agency was previously $42.8 billion (€41.5 billion).