Watching Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) when I worked on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I saw a man vocally make the case for U.S. foreign assistance, linking its importance to national security and American ideals at John Kerry’s confirmation hearing for secretary of State in 2013. American aid was not just a world of change but a chance to change the world.

Seeing him now as secretary of State, it’s hard to imagine he is the same person, as the Trump administration’s attempts to shut down USAID and impose a blanket freeze on foreign aid with few exceptions.

What started as a pause and review of foreign aid has turned into a full-blown crisis that threatens to unravel the entire international development sector and affect millions of lives around the world. And having just appointed himself acting director of USAID, it is Secretary Rubio who bears the responsibility for what comes next, not unelected political appointees with an axe to grind.

Secretary Rubio therefore may want to take a page out of Senator Rubio’s book. Back on the Senate floor in 2017, Senator Rubio recognized the historical importance of how U.S. foreign assistance helped rebuild........

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