Secretary of State Marco Rubio, newly in charge of the besieged US Agency for International Development, was for years a staunch supporter of its mission while in the US Senate, reversing his views only recently as President Donald Trump and his allies have moved to dismantle the agency.

President Donald Trump's administration has made significant changes to the U.S. agency charged with delivering humanitarian assistance overseas that has left aid organizations agonizing over whether they can continue with programs such as nutritional assistance for malnourished infants and children.

Here’s a look at USAID, its history and the changes made since Trump took office. Kennedy created USAID at the height of the United States’ Cold War struggle with the Soviet Union. He wanted a more efficient way to counter Soviet influence abroad through foreign assistance and saw the State Department as frustratingly bureaucratic at doing that.