In a sweeping move that escalates the Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday directed American embassies worldwide to terminate all remaining USAID personnel, with the State Department assuming control of foreign aid operations by Monday.
The directive arrives amid legal uncertainty. A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s broader executive order mandating mass firings across several federal agencies, including State. Plaintiffs in the case argue that Rubio’s latest action may violate that injunction.
However, the administration contends the reorganization predates the order. “So there’s no possible violation,” they insist. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston has yet to issue a ruling on the matter.
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State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce downplayed the development.
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“So this was a cable, telling our posts exactly what they were expecting to be told, which is that those positions were being eliminated. So it wasn’t a surprise. It’s nothing new,” she said. “And, it is exactly what we previewed, in February and March of this year.”
Rubio’s message instructed all diplomatic posts to follow through with the plan “to abolish all USAID overseas positions” by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
The final phase of terminations marks the near-total shutdown of USAID, once the primary arm of U.S. foreign assistance.
More than 10,000 staff and contractors have been targeted in the shake-up, orchestrated jointly by the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the Elon Musk-led agency tasked with eliminating what they call bureaucratic redundancy.
READ ALSO: Appeals court allows DOGE to continue operating at USAID
