The Trump administration has saved taxpayers nearly $60 billion since it took office just over a month ago by eliminating programs in the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) alone.
A senior State Department official told The Daily Signal that “in just a few weeks, [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio has identified billions of dollars of savings for the American taxpayer. He has rooted out programs that are not aligned with the priorities of this administration. The secretary is committed to building out an ‘America First’ State Department, and this a critical step toward reaching that objective.”
The Trump administration’s attempts at government reform have faced significant legal challenges. Most recently, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has allowed for the administration’s pause on almost $2 billion in foreign aid payments to continue while he reviews a lower-court ruling to the contrary.
The savings come after the start of a review led by Rubio. Stop Work Orders were placed on many programs to ensure a comprehensive review. Some categories of international assistance were exempted for humanitarian reasons, including food assistance and treatments for HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.
Rubio, who received a unanimous Senate confirmation vote to become secretary of state, has enthusiastically sought to reform the government programs he now leads.
The State Department under his direction has now evaluated more than 9,100 grants. Some 4,100 grants totaling approximately $4.4 billion were pinpointed to be eliminated. As acting administrator of USAID, Rubio also led the agency in evaluating 6,200 multiyear awards worth $58.2 billion. Nearly 5,800 awards worth $54 billion were cut. That was a reduction of 92%.
Rubio has a three-question litmus test for how to evaluate programs, based on whether they make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.
Eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse has been a major theme of the new administration with the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk. A new poll found that 62% of registered voters are confident that DOGE will save taxpayers money in the federal government.
Rubio’s grant reform is happening at the same time as the Trump administration has achieved a bevy of diplomatic wins, including securing the release of American teacher Marc Fogel, who had been imprisoned in Russia for more than three years, as well as an unnamed American held in the Russia- aligned Eastern European nation of Belarus. Last week, the president’s national security adviser promised that Trump would “end the war in Europe” [and] “end the wars in the Middle East.”
The Trump administration, in consultation with Congress, is hoping to implement permanent changes for how the United States delivers grants to minimize drift from the core mission of protecting American interests. Trump has also come out boldly in support of freedom internationally as congressional Republicans look to use their own legislative power to eliminate the promotion of abortion from programs, such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).