Fact Check: "The Trump administration cut 83 percent of USAID's programs and folded the rest into the State Department."
What We Know
The claim that the Trump administration cut 83% of USAID's programs and transferred the remaining programs to the State Department is supported by multiple reports. On March 10, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that approximately 5,200 out of 6,200 contracts managed by USAID were officially canceled. Rubio stated that these contracts "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" (NPR). He also indicated that the remaining 1,000 contracts would be administered by the State Department, which had absorbed USAID as part of this restructuring (AP News).
Analysis
The announcement by Secretary Rubio aligns with the broader strategy of the Trump administration to reassess and significantly reduce foreign aid programs. The decision was part of a review initiated by President Trump on his first day in office, aimed at identifying wasteful spending in foreign assistance (NPR). Critics of the cuts, including some lawmakers and health officials, have raised concerns about the potential humanitarian impact, suggesting that the abrupt termination of these programs could lead to increased mortality and disease in vulnerable populations (NPR).
The reliability of the sources reporting on this claim is high. NPR and AP News are established news organizations known for their journalistic standards. The information provided by Rubio is direct and comes from an official government announcement, which adds to its credibility. However, it is important to note that the projections regarding the humanitarian impacts of these cuts, while alarming, have not been peer-reviewed or confirmed by independent experts (NPR).
Conclusion
The claim that the Trump administration cut 83% of USAID's programs and folded the remaining programs into the State Department is True. The evidence from credible news sources confirms that a significant portion of USAID's contracts was canceled, and the remaining contracts were transferred to the State Department as part of a broader reorganization of U.S. foreign aid.
