USAID project sign on Feb. 21, 2025. (Credit: P.H.B.)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday night praised himself for saving the administration an additional $214 million by canceling more than 130 projects around the world, citing a program he called “misguided” for migrant workers in Lebanon.
"Under my direction, the State Department has canceled another 139 grants worth $214 million," Rubio wrote in a post on X. He added that “American taxpayers should not be funding misguided programs like ‘Building the Migrant Domestic Worker-Led Movement’ in Lebanon or ‘Get the Trolls Out!’ in the United Kingdom.”
He said the process aims to "clean up the mess the previous administration left."
Under my direction, the @StateDept has canceled another 139 grants worth $214 million.
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 15, 2025
The American taxpayers should not be funding misguided programs like “Building the Migrant Domestic Worker-Led Movement” in Lebanon or “Get the Trolls Out!” in the United Kingdom.
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A report published by the Washington Free Beacon — a media outlet that describes itself as opposed to the “mainstream media” — listed several programs reportedly cut by the State Department, including initiatives for “newsroom sustainability” in Moldova, “media diversity” in the United Kingdom, and “environmental resilience” in Armenia. The report said the grant cut in Lebanon was valued at $750,000.
Contacted by L’Orient Today, the Anti-Racism Movement in Lebanon — an organization that works with migrant workers to combat racist discrimination and abuse — said it “is not and has not been involved in U.S. state funding at all.” It was not immediately clear which organization was responsible for the project mentioned by Rubio.
In Lebanon, domestic work is excluded from the labor law and governed by the kafala, or sponsorship, system, which leaves foreign domestic workers vulnerable to abuse, including being denied the right to terminate their contracts if mistreated by employers.
Lebanon received more than $300 million in obligated and disbursed U.S. aid in 2024.
U.S. aid cuts under the Trump administration were closely tied to broader foreign policy shifts focused on reducing government spending and prioritizing national interests. During his tenure, Trump and his administration consistently advocated cutting foreign aid, arguing that the United States was spending too much on global initiatives that did not align with its immediate priorities.
This approach was part of the “America First” foreign policy doctrine, which sought to limit U.S. involvement in overseas commitments and redirect resources toward domestic concerns.
However, on April 8, the Trump administration moved to restore awards to the World Food Program in Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, Jordan, Iraq and Ecuador, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters.
The swift reversal of decisions made just days earlier underscored the abrupt nature of Trump’s foreign aid policies.