US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference office, formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC).
“Over the last decade, Americans have been slandered, fired, charged, and even jailed for simply voicing their opinions,” Rubio wrote on X on Wednesday. “That ends today.”
The office, according to Rubio, “actively silenced and censored the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving.”
In an op-ed in The Federalist, Rubio framed the decision as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to restore free speech and roll back “the disinformation industry.”
“The Trump administration rejects this anti-American attitude,” wrote Rubio. “The American people don’t need an obscure agency to ‘protect’ them from lies by pressuring X to ban users or trying to put The Federalist out of business.”
Former US president has questioned the idea of being indicted for interfering in a presidential election, arguing that he believed he had every right to do so.
Originally established in 2011 as the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, the GEC was rebranded under the Obama administration and later expanded to monitor foreign propaganda and disinformation. Critics have argued that the mission drifted into domestic affairs, a claim the State Department has previously denied.
The GEC, which had a budget of $61 million and employed around 120 workers, ceased operations in December after the Republican-controlled Congress declined to renew its funding. The move comes as Rubio faces criticism over visa revocations targeting international students involved in pro-Palestinian protests or op-eds, raising free speech and First Amendment concerns.
The US says the governments of Russia and Iran sought to divide American voters through targeted disinformation campaigns.
