WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the United States was cancelling 83 per cent of programs at the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January demanding a freeze on all US foreign aid to give his administration time to assess overseas spending, with an eye to gutting programs not aligned with his “America First” agenda.

“After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID,” Rubio said on social media platform X.

“The 5,200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States,” he added.

USAID distributes US humanitarian aid around the world, with health and emergency programs in around 120 countries.

The State Department, which oversees USAID, had announced on February 26 its intention to cut 92 per cent of the agency’s program funding, identifying 5,800 grants to be eliminated.

Rubio on Monday notably thanked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which billionaire Elon Musk is leading in a drive to slash costs and cut jobs across government departments.

Trump and his allies have argued that foreign assistance is wasteful and does not serve US interests.

But aid groups argue much of the assistance supports US interests by promoting stability and health overseas, and warn that cutting aid threatens the lives of vulnerable people.