In The News 30 March 2025

State Department to assume control of USAID programs after Trump court win

By Dan McCaleb
The Center Square  

The Department of State will assume many of the responsibilities and oversight of programs previously performed by the U.S. Agency of International Development, effectively shuttering the controversial USAID department.

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had been targeting USAID's questionable spending for cuts, leading to legal challenges. But on Friday, a federal appeals court overturned a lower court's ruling that certain DOGE activities at USAID were unconstitutional, granting a stay on the earlier ruling and allowing DOGE to continue its scrutiny of USAID spending.

“Foreign assistance done right can advance our national interests, protect our borders, and strengthen our partnerships with key allies," Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote Friday in a post to X. "Unfortunately, USAID strayed from its original mission long ago. As a result, the gains were too few and the costs were too high. Thanks to President Trump, this misguided and fiscally irresponsible era is now over."

Rubio continued: "We are reorienting our foreign assistance programs to align directly with what is best for the United States and our citizens. We are continuing essential lifesaving programs and making strategic investments that strengthen our partners and our own country."

USAID was responsible for overseeing spending on programs that provided humanitarian assistance around the world, but Musk's DOGE revealed a list of controversial spending examples – including $1.5 million to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities,” according to the White House – that led to Rubio and President Donald Trump deciding to dismantle the agency.

* * *

••• Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.

Add new comment

This is not for publication.
This is not for publication.
About text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
Article comments are not posted immediately to the Web site. Each submission must be approved by the Web site editor, who may edit content for appropriateness. There may be a delay of 24-48 hours for any submission while the web site editor reviews and approves it. Note: All information on this form is required. Your telephone number and email address is for our use only, and will not be attached to your comment.
CAPTCHA This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.