Secretary of State Marco Rubio stunned a Cabinet meeting by revealing the Biden administration’s State Department compiled secret dossiers on Americans accused of spreading disinformation.
Fox News reported that Rubio disclosed that one dossier targeted a Trump administration official, highlighting a now-defunct office’s role in monitoring citizens. This office, once called the Global Engagement Center (GEC), was shuttered by Rubio in April 2025.
The GEC’s actions sparked outrage among conservatives who saw it as censorship. Established in 2016 by former President Barack Obama, the GEC aimed to counter foreign propaganda through coordinated messaging.
Its mission later expanded to tackle disinformation, according to State Department records. However, Rubio accused the GEC of overstepping by silencing American voices.
Under the Biden administration, the GEC allegedly worked with media and platforms to suppress speech it deemed problematic.
Conservatives, including journalist Matt Taibbi, criticized the GEC for funding blacklists during the pandemic. Taibbi reported in 2024 that the GEC labeled accounts as “Russian proxies” for controversial COVID-19 claims.
Such claims included theories about the virus being a bioweapon or linked to the CIA. The GEC’s actions drew scrutiny for targeting Americans rather than foreign threats. Rubio emphasized that free speech, not censorship, counters disinformation effectively.
“We had an office in the Department of State whose job it was to censor Americans,” Rubio said during the Cabinet meeting. He noted dossiers were kept on individuals, including one official present at the meeting. Rubio promised to deliver these files to those targeted.
“There’s at least one person at this table today who had a dossier in that building of social media posts to identify them as purveyors of disinformation,” Rubio added. Vice President JD Vance jokingly asked if he or Elon Musk was the target. Rubio did not disclose the official’s identity.
The GEC, costing taxpayers over $50 million annually, faced declining support by 2024. Lawmakers refused to fund it in the National Defense Authorization Act, setting its termination for December 2024. Despite this, the Biden administration rebranded it as the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Hub (R/FIMI) in January 2025.
Rubio swiftly closed R/FIMI on April 16, 2025, ending its operations. “This office spent millions to silence Americans they were supposed to serve,” Rubio stated in his announcement. He called the GEC’s actions antithetical to American principles.
Elon Musk had criticized the GEC in a January 2023 X post, labeling it a major censorship offender. “They are a threat to our democracy,” Musk wrote, well before his role in the Trump administration. His comments underscored the GEC’s controversial reputation among free-speech advocates.
Musk’s critique came over a year before he endorsed Trump and joined the Department of Government Efficiency. His early warning aligned with Rubio’s findings about the GEC’s overreach. The GEC’s closure marked a victory for those opposing government-led censorship.
Rubio’s revelation raised questions about which Trump official was targeted. Fox News Digital sought clarification from the White House but received no response. The lack of transparency fueled concerns about the Biden administration’s motives.
The GEC’s activities, including its secret subcontractor lists, alarmed conservatives who valued open discourse. Rubio’s decision to shut it down was part of a broader State Department reform. He vowed to prevent such offices from operating in the future.
“The best way to combat disinformation is freedom of speech and transparency,” Rubio declared. His actions reflected a commitment to dismantling what he saw as woke bureaucratic excesses. The closure sent a clear message against government overreach.
The shuttering of R/FIMI, formerly the GEC, ended a chapter of alleged censorship within the State Department. Rubio’s bold move resonated with Americans wary of government surveillance. It underscored a shift toward protecting free expression under the new administration.