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House Foreign Affairs members spar over State Department reorganization and proposed aid cuts
Summary
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended a reorganization that folds many USAID functions into the State Department and a foreign affairs budget reshaping, telling the House Foreign Affairs Committee the changes are needed to ensure U.S. foreign policy "is rooted in the national interest."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that he has reorganized U.S. diplomatic and development tools to prioritize "the national interest," and that he folded many USAID functions under the State Department to drive policy from embassies and regional bureaus.
Rubio said, "every dollar we spend and every action we take has to have measurable outcomes that deliver for the American people. They have to either make our country safer, or they have to make our country stronger, or they have to help make our country more prosperous." He emphasized moving decision authority toward embassies so Washington layers would not slow urgent action.
The committee hearing, called to review the State Department's fiscal 2026 request, turned into repeated exchanges about the scope and legality of the…
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