State Department says it has canceled 39 grants totaling $214 million; budget cuts and NATO funding reports remain under review

Tammy, State Department spokesperson, told reporters that the department under Secretary Rubio has canceled grants she said were “misguided,” and that broader budget reports circulating in the press are not a finalized White House plan.

The spokesperson read a tweet she attributed to Secretary Rubio saying, “Under my direction, the State Department has canceled another 39 grants worth $214,000,000. The American taxpayers should not be funding misguided programs like building the migrant domestic worker led movement in Lebanon or get the trolls out in The United Kingdom. We are cleaning up the mess the previous administration left and rebuilding an agency that's focused on putting America First.” Tammy said she would attempt to provide a full list of the canceled grants to reporters.

Why it matters: Grant cancellations and an agency budget reduction could change which diplomatic and development programs the United States funds overseas. Reporters pressed the spokesperson about draft Office of Management and Budget figures in circulation that would sharply reduce the State Department and USAID funding stream known as the “function 150” budget. Tammy said the documents in some news reports were not released by the State Department and that there is no final White House budget yet.

The spokesperson repeatedly distinguished between speculative reporting and an official submission to Congress, saying, "whatever you've seen in public was not released from this entity, it was not released by the secretary, that there is no final plan, final budget, final dynamic. That is up to the White House and the president of The United States as they continue to work on their budget plan and what they will submit to Congress." She urged reporters to check with the White House for any final budget proposal.

Reporters also asked whether a suggested drop in U.S. contributions to NATO was real. Tammy strongly affirmed the United States’ commitment to NATO while also reiterating the administration’s messaging that allied members should increase defense spending. She said the administration’s aim is “making NATO stronger” and that reports suggesting the U.S. is eliminating NATO funding were “couldn't be further from the truth.”

What the department said it had done: the spokesperson described the grant cancellations as a direct action by Secretary Rubio; she read the examples named in the tweet and said the department was “cleaning up the mess the previous administration left.” She acknowledged some press reporting had varied numbers and said she would try to provide clarifying documentation to the press corps.

What remains unresolved: Tammy said the final president’s budget will be sent to Congress in due course and that draft or leaked reporting can be inaccurate. She did not provide a full list of the canceled grants at the briefing, and she declined to confirm whether additional cuts will be included in any eventual White House submission.

Reporting context: Questions about grant cancellations and possible budget reductions came during the State Department’s regular press briefing and were prompted by a public tweet from Secretary Rubio and by media reports quoting leaked budget figures. Tammy said the department had not itself released the draft figures circulating in the press.

Ending: The State Department spokesperson said officials would attempt to provide a full list of canceled grants and reiterated that any final budget decisions will be part of the White House submission to Congress.