Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday he was handing off the reins of USAID to Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought to “oversee the closeout” of the embattled agency.
In addition to his new role shepherding USAID through its final wind down, Vought already serves as the president’s budget chief and helms the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in his capacity as acting director. Vought was also a key architect of The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.
USAID was an early target of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on what his administration deemed to be “woke” federal aid operations, as outlined in an executive order the president issued shortly after returning to office that directed a sweeping freeze on domestic and foreign aid programs. MORE