USAID has come under a lot of criticism by Trump’s administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is now head of USAID, accusing them of “rank insubordination,” and of acting as if they’re not even a U. S. agency, but a global charity. Elon Musk called USAID “a criminal organization.” My sister worked for USAID for many years, only retiring late last year. I believe USAID probably does do a lot of good work around the world. She did confirm, however, Trump’s criticism that they are run by a group of left-leaning administrators and staff (she made sure not to say certain things at work, or put up certain items in her office), though she didn’t use Trump’s description of them as “radical lunatics.”

Based on recent reports, one does wonder about the causes USAID has funded. They include some bizarre groups, along with groups who are not friendly to the U. S. Why would a U. S. government agency fund projects for organizations tied to the Taliban? Why would a U. S. government agency fund projects that rightfully ought to be funded by the home country? Honestly, few would deny that some of this spending is to groups that don’t deserve it, or for projects the U. S. has no business funding.

Some examples:

$1.5 million to “advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business community.” If Serbia wants DEI, they can fund it themselves.

$70,000 for the production of a DEI musical in Ireland. What? Why are we funding this?

$2.5 million for electric vehicles for Vietnam.

$47,000 for a transgender opera in Columbia. I’m sure that will be a big hit in Columbia!

$32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru. Again, definitely a number one seller in Peru!

$2 million for sex changes and LGBT activism in Guatemala. Let Guatemala fund this if they’re interested.

$6 million for toursim in Egypt. This should be 100% funded by the government of Egypt, not by us.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars for a non-profit linked to designated terrorists organizations. Why would we fund anyone with links to terror?

$4.67 million to EcoHealth Alliance for bat virus research at the Wuhan Lab. Because we know how promising and ethical the Wuhan Lab is!

Up to $10 million for meals that went to al Qaeda-affiliated fighters in Syria. What?!?! Why would the U. S. give one penny to al-Qaeda soldiers?

Funding to print personalized contraceptive devices in developing countries. Because nothing says “I love you” like a contraceptive embossed with your name!

Hundreds of millions of dollars to fund irrigation canals, farming equipment, and even fertilizer used to support the poppy cultivation and heroin production in Afghanistan, benefiting the Taliban. Hey, I’m all for funding irrigation canals, farming equipment, and fertilizer for farmers in poor countries, but not for illicit drugs, or for anything in Afghanistan right now, which is gonna end up benefiting the Taliban. Hundreds of millions of dollars for this?

$50 million to fund condoms in Gaza. Condoms in Gaza? $50 million for this?

$16 million in funding for institutional contractors in gender development offices.  

$20 million for “Ahlan Simsim,” a new Sesame Street show in Iraq. Iraq can fund this if interested. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but $20 million.

More than $4.5 million to combat “disinformation” in Kazakhstan.

$500,000 to groups that “empower women” in the effort to solve sectarian violence in Israel – just ten days prior to Hamas’ attacks on October 7, 2023. That was money well spent.

Nearly $25 million to promote green transportation in the country of Georgia.

$20 million for the Strengthening Transparency and Accountability through Investigative Reporting program (STAIR) that used the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) as its implementing partner. The OCCRP was cited four times by the whistleblower letter that led to Russiagate.

$7.9 million to a project that would teach Sri Lankan journalists to avoid using binary-gendered language. First, if journalists in Sri Lanka are interested in this, their companies should be paying for it. Second, why does something like this cost almost $8 million?

$1.1 million to an Armenian LGBT group.

$1.2 million to the African Methodist Episcopal Church Service and Developmental Agency in Washington, DC to build a state-of-the-art 440 seat auditorium. No. The U. S. government should not be funding building projects of churches.

$1.5 million to promote LGBT advocacy in Jamaica.

$1.5 million for “art inclusion for people with disabilities.” This has potential, but the USAspending.gov website didn’t go into further details about what this means.

$2 million to promote LGBT equality through entrepreneurship … in developing Latin American countries.” I suspect this is not a huge priority for developing Latin American countries. If we’re going to fund entrepreneuriship in developing Latin American countries, which is not a bad idea in and of itself, we ought not be discriminating against people who are not LGBT.

$2.1 million to the BBC to strengthen the media ecosystem in Libya, “designed to value the diversity of Libyan society.” Let the BBC fund this, or let the UK fund the BBC.

$2.3 million for artisanal and small-scall gold mining in the Amazon.

$2.5 million to promote inclusion in Vietnam.

$3.9 million to LGBT causes in Western Balkans.

$5.5 million to promote the human rights of LGBT people in Uganda. Not necessarily an ignoble goal, but not our project to fund.

$6 million to advance LGBT people in “priority countries around the world.”

$6 million to “Transform Digital Spaces to Reflect Feminist Democratic Principles.” Is that vague enough for you?

$6.3 million for the health of men who have sex with men in South Africa. No. South Africa can pay for this.

$8.3 million for USAID Education: Equity and Inclusion. DEI programs are discriminatory and racist. We shouldn’t be paying for them.

$16.8 million for a group in Vietnam to promote inclusion. The Vietamese government can pay for this if they’re interested in promoting “inclusion.”

Not including those projects that did not provide specific numbers, one of which was funded to the tune of “hundreds of millions of dollars,” the total for all these projects comes to more than $237 million. No, that’s not gonna pay off our multi-trillion dollar deficit, but it’s a start. Besides, the U. S. taxpayer shouldn’t be funding these projects, anyway.

I sincerely hope that Marco Rubio and others can get hold of USAID and take care of this waste. The U. S. government is supposed to spend our taxpayer money responsibly. That has become a joke in recent decades (if not, like, forever!), a joke too many Americans have been willing to tolerate in the past.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.