U.S. to review USAID programs; State Department issuing daily waivers, Rubio says

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration’s aim is to align overseas assistance with U.S. foreign‑policy priorities and to identify which programs “make us safer, stronger, and more prosperous.” Rubio said that language in a recent notice permits “specially designated programs” to be exempted from an order to return home, and that because of resistance he has directed a bottom‑up review of USAID missions to identify programs that should be specially designated and preserved.

Rubio said the State Department has been issuing daily waivers on State Department programs. He described efforts to work with missions worldwide to catalog programs and decide which further national interest. "We are now going to have to work from the bottom up instead of the top down to identify which program which programs should be specially designated and therefore exempted from that order," he said.

A reporter asked whether the pause and staff returns had demoralized contractors and foreign service officers; the reporter said life‑saving programs worldwide have been affected. Rubio acknowledged friction, saying his preference was a top‑down approach but that insubordination and continued payment attempts forced a different approach. He said the purpose is not to end foreign aid but to “structure it in a way that furthers the national interest of The United States.”

The president of Guatemala said some USAID programs in Guatemala were consistent with bilateral priorities and expressed interest in preserving programs that support shared goals; he did not list specific programs. Neither official provided a comprehensive list of programs that will be preserved or the timeline for the USAID review.