Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing to examine the president's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of State on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
RUTFs are pre-packaged, nutrient-rich, ready-to-eat meals that help prevent malnutrition, mainly in children. Some countries even refer to RUTFs as a form of medicine.
The State Department’s comments come after Secretary Rubio faced questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill in a May hearing, when Democratic Rep. Gabe Amo of Rhode Island confronted Rubio in a heated exchange, saying the agency was intentionally "freezing" RUTF aid to countries in need.
"You need to figure out why they’re not moving, because it isn’t an impediment for us," Rubio fired back.
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A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development sign from their headquarters on Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
The sensitive but unclassified document also revealed a request to approve a new Title II award, valued at $35 million, which sources say was several times less than initially estimated, to cover the costs of warehouses, shipping overseas, transporting inland, programming and distribution.
Fox News Digital spoke to MANA CEO Mark Moore, who outlined a detailed timeline of RUTF federal contract negotiations and the challenges the non-profit faced as USAID merged into the State Department at the beginning of 2025.
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At one point, before the State Department and the Trump administration proposed contracts in May, Moore told Fox News, "We’re all looking at June and July running out of these old contracts and saying we’re just going to have to close the doors." He noted that "if this new order didn’t come out, we’d really be screwed going into the summer."
"It is trending the right way, and we’re thrilled," Moore added.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Rep. Gabe Amo and Edesia but did not receive a response.
Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston
Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/state-department-reveals-plan-deliver-life-saving-meals-1-4-million-starving-children