The outrage over the Trump administration’s moves to rein in documented waste and fraud at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shows where Democrats’ true priorities lie – not with the American people, but with left-wing special interests and shadowy NGOs frivolously spending U.S. taxpayer dollars in faraway lands.
For four years, Joe Biden used the presidency to target his political opponents, import millions of unvetted illegal aliens, and shield his son from criminal prosecution, among other glaring and egregious abuses of power. Throughout all of this, Democrats and their corporate media allies oscillated between turning a blind eye to the corruption and actively enabling it.
But as soon as Donald Trump threatened to turn off the spigot of American dollars flowing to foreign countries, Democrats leapt into action, promising lawsuits and a tooth-and-nail fight to keep the agency open. A group of congressional Democrats even tried to force its way into USAID headquarters on Monday before being turned away by security. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy went so far as to call the situation a “constitutional crisis.”
The saga began over the weekend after the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began targeting USAID personnel and programs for cuts as part of its broader mission to reduce wasteful government spending.
On Monday, new Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he was appointing himself active director of USAID, effectively solidifying that the State Department had taken over the formerly independent agency. “The Department of State and other pertinent entities will be consulting with Congress and the appropriate committees to reorganize and absorb certain bureaus, offices, and missions of USAID,” Rubio wrote in a letter to Congress.
In principle, USAID is supposed to act as the humanitarian arm of the U.S. government, distributing aid to poor and underdeveloped regions of the world. The agency’s budget, about $44 billion in fiscal year 2024, is relatively small compared to behemoths like the State Department or the Defense Department.
But USAID has been plagued by accusations of mismanagement for years, and conservatives have long alleged that the agency has become little more than a slush fund for left-wing pet projects with no oversight from Congress. In the ensuing fight over Trump’s efforts to shutter the agency, those accusations have proven more or less correct.
There are undoubtedly some legitimate initiatives that USAID is involved in, a fact which Democrats cling to. But those worthwhile endeavors do little to mask the enormous pile of waste, fraud, and abuse at the agency.
For instance, one NGO under the Biden administration received $1.5 million from USAID to “advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities, by promoting economic empowerment of and opportunity for LGBTQI+ people in Serbia.”
In another case, a group in Ireland – hardly a nation in need of U.S. taxpayer money for “international development” – was awarded $70,000 to produce a “DEI musical.” Another $2 million grant from USAID went to promote “gender-affirming care” in Guatemala. $32,000 went toward funding a comic book promoting transgenderism in Peru. Another USAID program awarded $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia.
Other funding outlays were less overtly political but just as ridiculous. $6 million went to fund tourism in Egypt – a nation with a larger GDP than Finland and Portugal. Another $2.5 million was dispatched to Vietnam for electric vehicles.
To be sure, all of these line items are miniscule compared to the gargantuan size of the overall federal budget. But it is safe to assume that the vast majority of Americans – even liberals who might be ideologically sympathetic to left-wing causes – don’t want their tax dollars going to fund such programs in foreign countries.
It should also be telling for the American people watching this drama unfold in D.C. that this is the line in the sand Democrats have chosen to draw. Perhaps nothing thus far in Trump’s second term has drawn such a clear contrast between the priorities of the two parties.
Under Joe Biden, American communities were ravaged by fentanyl coming across the border, American apartment complexes were taken over by foreign gangs, American industry was pillaged by China, American prestige was insulted and disgraced around the world, and yet this is where Democrats have chosen to make their stand – on defending an obscure federal agency so that it can continue funding projects that waste American taxpayer dollars at best and undermine America’s global standing at worst.
What Democrats have failed to offer is any sort of coherent explanation as to how any of the USAID projects outlined here improve American communities in any way. In democratic nations, the government’s compact with the people is that their tax dollars will be put to work to advance the national interest.
How exactly a transgender comic book in Peru advances America’s national interest is anyone’s best guess. Democrats are irate that someone is even asking the question.
Shane Harris is the Editor-in-Chief of AMAC Newsline. He is a native of Southwest Ohio. You can follow him on X @shaneharris513.
USAID has been one of the primary drivers of spreading the Left’s agenda around the world in plain sight for decades. It’s been one of the worst kept open secrets in Washington, D.C. going back to at least the 1990’s. Of course, the Democrats are now upset that a bright light has been shined on one of their most essential means of financing cultural Marxism and financing their socialist friends around the world under the guise of “humanitarian aid”.
How do you think most of the NGO’s that have been organizing and facilitating all the illegal alien caravans into the United States for years have been financed? The American taxpayers have literally been financing the intentional destruction of their own country through USAID for years and years. Which is why, at a bare minimum, USAID has to be immediately shutdown until a full audit of the agency has been completed and all its staff has been replaced and put under far stricter controls and guidelines.
Ideally, I would prefer USAID to be completely shut down and its staff immediately fired. Period! With foreign aid then shifted to the State Department directly, so tighter oversight and transparency would exist. However, I know how Washington works well enough to realize that may be too heavy a lift in a town where the bureaucracy is completely dominated by Democrats. Congress after all, is NOT populated by courageous people willing to stick their necks out. So, I’m all for Musk and the DOGE boys continuing to go around Washington and turning over all the rocks the Socialists and Marxists have been operating under for decades and highlighting why this government manages to spend now $7 trillion dollars a year and we see so little real value for it.
I pray to God that President Trump and his administration are able to reduce all fraud and corruption within the swamp. This is not an easy task as the deep state has become so entrenched within our everyday lives.
When Fox News showed the list of programs USAID paid for, I nearly choked! Over $40 billion! Now wonder our country is deeply in debt. How did this kind of spending even get started? Every day I wake up and thank God for President Trump.
I have said for years that the Democrats excel in three areas:
Lie.
Steal.
Cheat.
As is still is today!
This is how our “leaders” like AOC go from so broke that she lived in her office when first elected to a net worth of $35 million on $175k per year! Speaking of audits!) And it has happened with BOTH parties! Time to shine a light on it and expose it to the American people!
No government agency, including USAID, should be a bureaucratic fiefdom, independent from control by the President, Congress or the taxpayers. The attitude of these government agencies and departments seems to be “Shut up and give us the money”. That may be how it worked under the inept Biden, but that is not how it should work and that is not how it will work under President Trump.
Wow – and we didn’t get to talk to our representatives, elected officials at any level regarding this spending of our tax dollars.
Rubio needs to take a long hard look at DoS as well. There’s a log of wasteful spending and contractor abuse there. It needs to stop and people and contractors need to be let go.
Next is COMON CORE(COMUNIST EDUCATION)
Keep it going!!!!!!!!!
Way Overdue!????
Like Every Leftist Boondoggle, it sure SOUNDS like it is good for the USA, but it works for other countries and only funded by USA taxpayers
kickbacks
No one ever balanced a (family) budget with one big cut, It’s a lot of small cuts, that add up.
This is a start, now how do we stop paying all these Federal Employee’s that would be over
paid, IF they did work!
Finally, this nonsense is being exposed to the taxpayers who been supporting this hidden crap for years. Hopefully USAID will be terminated and the funds used for our homeless and vets. I applaud President Trump on this issue and hope he can find more garbage to eliminate during his tenure.
I thank God for President Trump and his sound policies to preserve America. The Biden/Harris regime was beyond despicable. The Trump administration is doing a fantastic job cleaning up the mess Biden and Harris made.
$35T in debt and this is how Democrats waste our money. disgusting.
It’s because they benefit from it. The gravy train needs to be derailed.
thank you for your reporting.
It jusr keeps getting more and more. I salute the brave people trying to do the right thing. Keep up the good work.GO DOGE GO!
STOP THIS FRAUD IN THE GOVERNMENT!
I am glad The Trump Administration is putting a stop on all this wasteful use of taxpayers dollars.
Especially the Foreighn interests that The Biden Administration was acknowledging!
These funds should have been spent on helping our Veterns
Not spent on Ridicules Foreighn Nonsense!
GO DOGE GO!
Let DOGE slash other agencies alone IE EEOC NAID, ICC, can help
I’ve never heard of USAID. But there are lots of government agencies that I never heard of.
As long as we have an income tax, liberal politicians, including RINOs, will continue to view all our money as theirs, less the amount they decide to leave us that they don’t need to give away and otherwise buy votes. We need a sales tax, the Fair Tax, instead, so that the more fair and more efficient taxing system, and the revenues it produces, become the amount politicians have to spend. When a sales tax shows our citizens more nearly the percentage of our money the government spends, we may have more hope that citizens will constrain the Federal government more.
I don’t care what party your part of, but wasting taxpayer money must stop. Funny how msm ignores reporting on how taxpayer money is being wasted. IMO
The democrats’ reaction over this is typical. They have NEVER met a waste of taxpayer dollars they didn’t like.
Hey everyone. Are you fed-up with the Democrat’s crap yet? The whole party ought to be declared domestic enemies to the Constitution that they are. Right here in the wonderful State of NEW YORK we have some of the most agregious tratiors(enemies) namely Chuck Schummer, Hakeem Jeffries and Kristen Gillabrand. Where were they when Biben was destroying this country? We didn’t hear a peep from them but now???? They seem to have much to say about every step Trump has taken to right the ship. Schuumer holds up a beer and an avacato and stated your super bowl party will be more expense because of Trump tariffs. BS Schummer. Where have you been for the last four years while your buddy Biden raped this country? NOW you are concerened about prices?????To HELL with all you damn Democrats. To all Amac members you have my permission to send this off to these reprobates here in NY. If the FBI shows up at my door I’ll just play dumb.
Sounds like an organized illegal Insurrection to me. An attempt to overturn the government and disobey a lawful order from the president otherwise known as treason. The entire Democrat Party needs to go on trial and be labeled domestic terrorist organization
Well there is an easy explanation. Some of that US aid was flowing to those house members who are screaming the loudest 5 minutes after Trump announced the pause. They wouldn’t even give him time to clean up the mess that Biden created. They were not up in arms when there was no aid for the victims in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene destroyed that state. How come they are upset that 100 million dollars in condoms went to Gaza and trans comic books to Peru. Is that what they attacked the US aid office for? Really? The people mandated in November to clean up the graft that was happening the past four years under Biden and the 8 years under Obama. These democrats especially Ihlan Omar should take a good look at herself. You are in the congress to represent the taxpayers in your district not the people of your native country
so true
Yay, Trump is such a hero. He sees that the constitution is outdated, that congress in inept, and it is Musk’s job with Trump as his little sidekick to save America from these outdated ideas like laws and appropriations. I can’t wait to see what else Trump will just ignore legislation on because he is smarter than the other branches of government combined.
I can’t wait to see how much AMAC will bootlick when Trump does his next illegal move.