‘Where’s the handcuffs?’ Rubio says THOUSANDS of USAID contracts now canceled
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced that 83% of the programs under USAID officially are being canceled because they didn’t help America interests, or they actually harmed the nation.
Social media immediately pointed out the “staggering” amount of fraud, and asked, “Where’s the handcuffs?”
After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID.
The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States.
In…
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 10, 2025
Rubio announced, “After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID. The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States. In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18% of programs we are keeping (approximately 1000) to now be administered more effectively under the State Department. Thank you to DOGE and our hardworking staff who worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform.”
A report in the Washington Examiner said the U.S. Agency for International Development was one of the first targets of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Administration officials earlier said USAID was being shut down entirely and any worthwhile programs, and the employees for them, were being moved to the State Department.
USAID came in for harsh criticism for its wildly inappropriate expenditures of American tax money, including the fact that when it sent $1.3 billion to the Congo, officials there used $488,000 for dozens of rooms at the five-star Hotel Quellenhof to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos.
That worked out to more than $81,000 a night.
Other tax funds were spent on DEI theatrical productions and LGBT comic books.
Rubio’s announcement confirmed 5,200 contracts are being canceled because “the programs did not serve U.S. interests,” and the move would save “tens of billions of dollars.'”
About 1,000 programs area being kept, and they now will be under the State Department.