What did Rubio tell us a diplomat about the future of foreign assistance because most of the programs paused

The United States do not plan to stop Distribution of foreign assistance Looking around the world, but one has to do a better job by explaining and defending the assistance programs, State Secretary Marco Rubio told us on Wednesday, diplomats behind closed doors.

“The United States is not moving away from help. It is not. We will continue to provide foreign help and be involved in the programs, but it must be programs we can defend. These must be programs that we have to be programs can explain.

“This is not about politics, but foreign help is the least popular thing the government is spending money on,” Rubio added. “And I have spent a lot of time in my career defending and explaining it, but it is harder and harder to work in the whole board – really it is. But for those of us in charge of doing foreign policy business, we understand that is important.”

State Department and Embassy did not respond to comment requests.

Over the 14 years in the US Senate, Rubio served at different times as a top Republican in external relations and intelligence committees and became a leading GOP voice on external policies.

This week is on its First foreign missionA five -day tour of Central America and the Caribbean, which is conceived to enhance his belief that the US should direct their closest neighbors because it seeks to suppress the illegal immigration and trade of illegal drugs.

The journey coincided with the dramatic overhaul of the US Agency for International Development, which reached its head last weekend, as the Ministry of Efficiency of the Government of Elona Musk faced with the officials of top agencies, wanting to find out more about the extent of the side of assistance. President Trump signed an executive order on Monday, basically folding the agency’s functions in State Department and called Rubio his administrator’s duties.

As part of an overhaul, USAID staff said on Tuesday This would be most staff on leave on Friday night, with exceptions to “critical function of mission, fundamental leadership and especially certain programs.”

On Wednesday morning, when he was Rubius met with the Guatemala Embassy staff, he was asked by the head of the USAID Guatemala about the future of the agency.

“It’s a question that deserves a direct and honest answer, and I’ll give it to you,” Rubio said, according to a transcript.

He said he hoped that by Friday he would choose all “specially specific programs” due to a wider inspection all the side of help.

The secretary said he was now seeking a contribution directly from the ambassador around the world after receiving a list of USAIDs in Guatemala program early Wednesday from US Ambassador Tobin Bradley. But he also hid the agency officials in Washington for not being able to work with the Musk team.

“We hope to achieve – over the next 36 to 48 hours – what would I hope to do in a tidier way, from above down … Now we will have to achieve it from below upwards, defining what these special missions are,” he said is.

Rubio quoted a USAID funding for a fight Ebola And some projects operated by the President’s Emergency Room for AIDS or PEPFAR as early exceptions that will continue.

“That must be done in a way that is transparent, and we didn’t get those answers. We weren’t, at least not from above,” Rubio said. “So now we will have to follow him from below up. It has always been our goal with our intention here, and that will still be our goal and our intention.”

On Saturday there were two main security officials at the USAID -Washington headquarters placed on administrative leaveTwo sources were confirmed by CBS News. Several sources said they had been discharged due to an attempt to block the Doge team to approach the classified material in limited areas.

As a wider overview of foreign assistance continues, Rubio said he wanted to continue some funding and issued a renunciation to deal with the delay of assistance for basic services. However, the USAIDs staff -Ai multiple non -governmental organizations say CBS News that the field operators are unable to distribute help because operations, payment and computer systems are out of net after being closed by the Ministry of Government, effectively making Rubio’s renunciation of powerlessness.

Tom Hart, the executive director of interaction, an alliance of 170 non -governmental organizations, says that many of these groups are now facing bankruptcy because they cannot access credit or US funding, because the Susteins Systems are Sablens. About 40% of interaction members receive a USAID funding. “

“Although the policy was established through the commander’s command, Rubio and even the paperwork, delivered to some of our partner’s non -governmental organizations, failed to get help, money, to continue working,” Hart said. “So we have politics, we have paperwork, we just have no means that flows to make it urgently make it easier.”

Hart also pointed out that, since USAID, it was recalled by all its staff and performers, “all those experts who help the evaluation – whether this program fits into the exemption announced by the secretary Rubio – is gone.”

The notification on Tuesday put all USAIDs staff on the administrative leave in force midnight on Friday and ordered it to US workers who set up within 30 days within 30 days if they were determined that their contracts were irrelevant. The USAID workers said the Agency plans to consider the exceptions of staff who should stay at work, and the return of travel expansion is possible on the basis of “personal or family difficulties, mobility or security problems.”

Rubio told diplomats on Wednesday that exceptions “came from Earth entry and not from anyone else.” He quoted examples of USAID employees who are married and have children with staff of the State Department awarded to the same embassy.

“So, now you are basically leaving them with the ability to say, ‘So, I have to leave my spouse and my children, potentially and eradicate and go. “That’s not our intention.

Also noted: “There are members [USAID] which are in the third trimester of pregnancy. “The second, he said, may require special medical attention.

“We have a case, especially I know someone who has to go to dialysis three times a week,” he said. “And so to order that we go the disorder is in terms of, continuing with during care. And there are people arranged in places, honestly, where we don’t want to be stranded with them, because it’s not, you can’t just catch a commercial flight and get back home. “

He concluded his long response, asking for grace diplomat.

“I know it’s hard to ask for patience. I know it’s hard to seek confidence because you’ve never met me before. I’ve never been in charge of State Department. I have never played a USAID administrator before. By the way I don’t pay twice for that.”

The details of the meeting were First reported the New York Times.

Claire Moran contributed to this report.