Secretary of State Marco Rubio, firmly rejected claims by ABC host George Stephanopoulos that recent U.S. foreign aid cuts caused people to die. The exchange took place on Good Morning America, where Stephanopoulos pressed Rubio over the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) program, which temporarily froze portions of foreign aid earlier this year.
Stephanopoulos claimed the pause in assistance led to global suffering and insisted it was “not credible” to say “no one’s died” as a result. He suggested the policy directly caused the deaths of vulnerable populations who rely on U.S. aid programs.
Rubio responded that blaming America for those deaths is misleading. He explained that war, corruption, and local failures often prevent aid from reaching those in need. “We are still the largest provider of humanitarian aid in the world,” Rubio said, emphasizing that deaths attributed to the cuts were often the result of theft, conflict, or mismanagement in recipient countries—not U.S. policy.
The Secretary of State also pointed to corruption within international aid programs, noting that some efforts had been “flat-out corrupt” or ineffective. He argued that American taxpayers deserve accountability, and reforms are necessary to ensure money is not wasted or diverted by hostile regimes. Rubio stressed that U.S. aid must be used responsibly to truly save lives.
The debate reflects broader questions about foreign aid: whether vast spending without oversight guarantees humanitarian outcomes, or whether reform better serves the suffering.
