Amo Slams Secretary Rubio for Selling Out American Values, Sacrificing Workers at Home, and Starving Kids Abroad

WASHINGTON, DC - TODAY, House Foreign Affairs Vice Ranking Member Gabe Amo (D-RI) blasted Secretary of State Marco Rubio's dismantling of U.S. foreign assistance programs, including the shuttering of USAID in a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing. Amo highlighted the damage to American workers, U.S. national security interests, weakened alliances, and hundreds of thousands of lives lost for vulnerable communities around the world.

"America's strength has never come solely from our might. It comes from our alliances, our credibility, and our values," said Vice Ranking Member Gabe Amo (D-RI). "Whether through negligence or ideology, the result of the Trump Administration's harmful actions are the same: weaker alliances, higher grocery and gas prices caused by an illegal war, more than 500,000 dead children worldwide, and a less secure America."

Watch Congressman Amo's full remarks HERE.

Background

Amo has been working to hold Rubio accountable to solve State Department administrative problems that threaten American jobs and prevent life-saving aid from reaching starving children for months.

Amo led a bipartisan letter to the House Appropriations Committee for FY27 requesting robust funding for the production and distribution of American-made RUTF and to fund cost-effective and evidence-based nutrition interventions.

In February, Amo introduced the Strengthening Uniform Procedures to Prevent Loss, Incineration, and Expiration of Supplies (SUPPLIES) Act, legislation to block President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's reckless destruction of unused, taxpayer-funded foreign aid when contracts expire.

On May 21, 2025, Amo questioned Secretary Rubio about the ready-to-use therapeutic food aid program, which was affected by the Department's work stoppage orders and disorganization. In the hearing, Rubio confirmed Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) produced by Rhode Island's Edesia Nutrition is lifesaving aid, and Amo pressed the Secretary to do everything to keep starving children from dying. Rubio said "No children are dying on my watch."

On May 21, 2025, Amo introduced the Reaffirming Unified Boundaries for Integrity and Oversight (R.U.B.I.O.) Act, legislation to ensure that the Secretary of State only serves as Secretary of State and no other position in the federal government.

On January 31, 2025, Amo asked Secretary Rubio for information on the impact of the Trump administration's unilateral pause on foreign aid on the production and delivery of Rhode Island-made RUTFs. Amo called out Secretary Rubio for missing the February 7 deadline to clarify foreign aid distribution.

On February 25, 2025, Amo sent a letter to Secretary Rubio asking for Edesia Nutrition's funding to be released.

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