Secretary of State Marco Rubio was expected to keep up the status quo. He’s not living up to those expectations.
Because the U.S. Secretary of State just made a risky and unprecedented move to gut the State Department.
Marco Rubio’s Vision to Slash State Dept. Waste Could Cement His Legacy as a Legendary Secretary of State
Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump’s Secretary of State, is charting a course that could redefine his tenure and leave an indelible mark on American diplomacy. Unlike his predecessors, who often approached Congress with pleas for larger budgets, Rubio stunned senators on Tuesday by advocating for a dramatic reduction in the State Department’s funding. His ambitious plan to cut the agency’s budget nearly in half signals a transformative approach to an institution long plagued by inefficiency and bureaucratic excess.
Rubio’s proposal, which comes after the State Department absorbed the U.S. Agency for International Development, is among the most sweeping agency cuts in the Trump administration. The plan aims to trim approximately $20 billion from the department’s budget, bringing it to $28.5 billion. This leaner budget, Rubio argued before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will allow the department to fulfill its core mission while eliminating duplicative and ideologically driven programs that have drained resources and muddled priorities.
“The State Department had to change,” Rubio declared during his testimony. “It was no longer at the center of American foreign policy. It had often been replaced by the National Security Council or some other agency within the government, when in fact, we have these highly talented people that were being edged out.” His words reflect a deep frustration with a department that, in his view, has been sidelined by its own inefficiencies, unable to execute the president’s foreign policy with clarity or purpose.
For decades, the State Department has grappled with bureaucratic bloat that Rubio contends has eroded its effectiveness. The growth of its Washington headquarters, coupled with soaring costs, has yielded diminishing returns for taxpayers. Rubio pointed out that the department’s over-reliance on centralized decision-making has stifled its ability to respond nimbly to global challenges, often leaving the National Security Council to fill the void. His plan seeks to reverse this trend by streamlining operations and empowering the department’s workforce.
A key focus of Rubio’s overhaul is the slashing of foreign aid programs that he believes have strayed from American interests. “Consistent with the President’s executive order, the Department has been reviewing our more than 15,000 foreign aid awards; we have already found billions diverted to ideological causes, including climate activism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and LGBTQ initiatives in foreign nations,” Rubio told senators. These programs, he argued, have not only misallocated taxpayer dollars but also fostered a culture within the agency that prioritizes ideology over diplomacy.
Working with the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Trump advisor and billionaire Elon Musk, Rubio’s team identified several questionable USAID programs. These range from funding contraceptives in Afghanistan to supporting LGBT diversity initiatives in European nations. Such initiatives, Rubio contends, reflect a misalignment of priorities that has undermined the department’s core functions and damaged its credibility.
The State Department’s internal watchdog has long raised alarms about these programs, noting that billions in aid have been disbursed to foreign entities without proper vetting for ties to terrorism or fraud. This lack of oversight, coupled with insufficient transparency from recipients, has created significant vulnerabilities. Rubio’s plan seeks to reorganize foreign aid to focus on concrete foreign policy objectives, ensuring that assistance aligns with America’s strategic interests rather than ideological agendas.
“[The programs] reflected State Department culture, where the creation of new offices and programs became a pathway to career advancement, and dedicated public servants were discouraged from finding ways to improve or streamline existing programs,” Rubio said in prepared remarks. “A State Department where everything took too long, cost too much money, involved too many individuals, and failed the American people.” His critique lays bare a department mired in inefficiency, where bureaucratic growth has outpaced effectiveness.
To address this, Rubio’s $28.5 billion budget request prioritizes eliminating waste while preserving the department’s ability to execute its mission. The cuts target what Rubio described as “duplicative, wasteful, and ideologically driven programs.” By refocusing resources, he aims to restore the department’s role as the cornerstone of American foreign policy, ensuring it can operate with agility and purpose.
Beyond budget cuts, Rubio has proposed sweeping organizational changes to devolve power from Washington to local embassies and regional bureaus. Last month, he outlined plans to eliminate or restructure 132 offices at the department’s headquarters, which collectively employ 700 civil servants. Among those targeted are the Office of Global Criminal Justice, the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, and the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. Essential functions of these offices will be absorbed into other or newly created, streamlined entities.
Rubio emphasized that empowering embassies is central to his vision. “The goal is to drive power and action to the regional bureaus and our embassies,” he told senators. By decentralizing decision-making, Rubio aims to leverage the expertise of diplomats on the ground, who are best positioned to tailor solutions to local challenges. For instance, he noted that effective humanitarian programs in Guatemala may differ significantly from those in African nations, requiring flexibility that a top-heavy bureaucracy cannot provide.
“We want our foreign policy to be wholistic,” Rubio explained, stressing the importance of harnessing the department’s “talented” diplomatic workforce. By empowering embassies to make decisions based on their unique contexts, Rubio believes the State Department can deliver more effective and responsive diplomacy, reversing years of centralized overreach.
Rubio has repeatedly vowed to make this the defining focus of his tenure, arguing that the post-Cold War consensus incubated at the State Department has weakened the U.S. while empowering adversaries like China. “Mature foreign policy requires a balancing of interests,” he said at the hearing, highlighting the need to prioritize national interests over ideological pursuits.
A cornerstone of Rubio’s reform is the America First Opportunity Fund (A1OF), a $2.9 billion flexible account designed to consolidate fragmented and inefficient foreign aid programs. “The A1OF builds on the lessons we learned from USAID, the Department’s existing foreign aid award system’s failures, and the few significant successes,” Rubio promised. The fund will enable rapid responses to crises, such as supporting immigration repatriation, aiding partner countries during natural disasters, or countering China’s malign influence.
Rubio was blunt about the inefficiencies of the current system. “[These] reforms had to happen—at USAID, 12 cents of every dollar was reaching the recipient,” he said. “That means that in order for us to get aid to somebody, we had to spend all this other money supporting this foreign aid industrial complex.” His plan aims to deliver aid more directly and efficiently, guided by regional bureaus and aligned with a holistic foreign policy approach.
“We’re going to find more efficient ways to deliver aid to people directly, and it’s going to be directed by our regional bureaus, and it’s going to sponsor programs that make a difference,” Rubio vowed. If he can follow through on this vision—slashing waste, empowering diplomats, and realigning foreign policy with American interests—Marco Rubio could go down as one of the most transformative Secretaries of State in history.
