Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that U.S. foreign aid must be explicitly tied to advancing American national interests, rejecting the idea that taxpayer-funded assistance is a form of global charity.
"Foreign aid is not a separate activity of the United States government; it is an element and a tool of our foreign policy, and it should be used for the purpose of furthering the national interest," Rubio said during an extensive press briefing at the State Department.
"That doesn't mean we don’t care about human rights. That doesn't mean we don't care about starvation. That doesn’t mean we don’t care about hunger. That doesn't mean we don’t care about humanitarian need.
"What it does mean, however, is that even foreign aid — which is not charity, it is an act of the U.S. taxpayer.
"American charities are free to give their money to whoever they want as long as it's not a sanctioned entity, but the United States and the taxpayer money should be spent in furtherance of our foreign policy, should be spent in places and on things that further our foreign policy, and even that is not unlimited.
"We have a limited amount of money that we can dedicate to foreign aid and humanitarian assistance, and that has to be applied in a way that furthers our national interest, and that's what we have sought to do as well."
The remarks reflect a broader recalibration of U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump, which Rubio said is grounded in a return to the concept of national interest after decades of what he described as outdated assumptions.
The administration's approach has drawn scrutiny from some humanitarian organizations, but Rubio argued the reforms improve effectiveness while ensuring accountability.
"Bringing the tools of foreign aid underneath the umbrella of our broader foreign policy has been an important and dramatic reform," Rubio said.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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