In a decisive move applauded by many conservatives, Secretary Marco Rubio has announced the closure of the U.S. State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference office.
The closure dismantles what many conservatives viewed as a taxpayer-funded censorship operation masquerading as a counter-disinformation effort.
The move delivers on the Trump administration’s promise to protect Americans’ constitutional rights from government overreach.
The State Department confirmed the closure of the office, formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC), which had been operating at a cost of over $50 million per year.
The decision came as part of a broader executive order focused on “countering censorship and restoring freedom of speech” within government operations.
Secretary Rubio did not mince words when announcing the shutdown, explicitly linking the office to unconstitutional actions against American citizens.
“Over the last decade, Americans have been slandered, fired, charged, and even jailed for simply voicing their opinions. That ends today,” Rubio declared.
The anti-disinformation office had become a lightning rod for criticism from conservative commentators and lawmakers who argued it was selectively targeting right-leaning voices while claiming to focus on foreign threats.
Critics pointed to its activities identifying American websites and social media accounts that allegedly “amplified misinformation,” particularly regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The closure represented a major win for those fighting against what many conservatives see as a growing censorship industrial complex within the federal government.
Acting Undersecretary Darren Beattie, who is overseeing the closure, informed approximately 40 employees that their positions would be eliminated as part of the restructuring.
Moreover, Rubio did not hold back when describing why the office needed to be shuttered, saying it “cost taxpayers more than $50m per year and actively silenced and censored the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving.”
As expected, establishment figures from previous administrations criticized the move. James Rubin, who previously led the Global Engagement Center, complained:
“This is the functional equivalent of unilateral disarmament. If we remove our defenses against Russian and Chinese information warfare, it’s just to their advantage. That’s called unilateral disarmament.”
Nevertheless, supporters of the closure noted that the best defense against misinformation is not government censorship but rather more free speech.
The GEC’s critics have long maintained that labeling certain viewpoints as “foreign disinformation” became a convenient excuse to silence legitimate American voices that challenged establishment narratives.
The GEC was originally created during the Obama administration but faced mounting criticism from Republicans.
The office lost funding after GOP lawmakers blocked its budget reauthorization, recognizing it had strayed from its original mission and was increasingly focusing on domestic speech rather than actual foreign threats.
Democrat Senator Jeanne Shaheen predictably condemned the closure, claiming it would benefit America’s adversaries.
However, conservative analysts countered that having government bureaucrats decide what information Americans can access is precisely what authoritarian regimes like Russia and China practice.
The shuttering of this office appears to be just the beginning of a broader effort by the Trump administration to dismantle what many conservatives see as a sprawling censorship apparatus built up within the federal government during previous administrations.
For millions of Americans who felt their voices were being silenced by their own government, the closure represents a significant step toward restoring the First Amendment rights the Constitution guarantees.
