US dismisses criticism over response to Myanmar quake

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has rejected claims that Washington's limited response to the recent earthquake in Myanmar was due to the Trump administration’s decision to close its humanitarian aid agency.

When questioned by the BBC about why the U.S. had not provided significant assistance—as it has often done during previous crises—Rubio responded by saying, “We’re not the world’s government.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has pushed back against criticism that Washington was unprepared to assist following the Myanmar earthquake because of the Trump administration's decision to shut down a key humanitarian aid agency.

During an interview with the BBC, Rubio was asked why the United States had not responded in a significant way, as it has traditionally done during similar international disasters.

He replied, “We are not the world’s government.”

He elaborated further: “We’re no longer going to pour $10 million—or $100 million—into operations that only manage to get $10 million worth of help to those in need. That model doesn’t make sense anymore. We've stopped operating like that.”

Rubio emphasized that the U.S. would no longer fund large global NGOs that, in his words, have built their operations around profiting from aid distribution.

“That’s not something we’re supporting now,” he said.

“We’re willing to work with governments and effective, trustworthy NGOs already working on the ground. We’ll be involved and helpful. But there are many other wealthy nations out there—it’s time for them to contribute as well. We’ll do our part.”

When the earthquake hit Myanmar, reports surfaced that the White House had initially tried to deploy a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART).

However, former officials revealed that the effort failed due to previous cuts: the Trump administration had eliminated key logistics contracts and dismissed personnel responsible for coordinating such missions.

These cuts to USAID were reportedly driven by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency—also known as Doge—which was created after President Trump, on his first day in office, labeled much of foreign aid as an “industry” that he believed often conflicted with American values.