Re: Gutting USAID

In article <vnrosl$1hkm6$1@dont-email.me>, atropos@mac.com wrote:

The press is running for the fainting couch over Trump setting DOGE loose on
USAID with plans to gut the entire organization.
>
Here's a small taste of what USAID has been doing with your tax money:
>
--$1.5 million to advance DEI programs in Serbia's workplaces
>
--$70,000 to produce a DEI musical in Ireland
>
--$47,000 to produce a transgender opera in Colombia
>
--$32,000 to publish a transgender comic book in Peru
>
...and the list goes on.

Political contributions from employees at the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) went almost entirely to Democrats, according to a Daily
Wire analysis.

In the 2024 election cycle, USAID staff made a total of $406,790 in political
contributions, according to data collected on OpenSecrets. More than half of
that, $241,079, went to the former Vice President Kamala Harris. Only $999 � a
quarter of a percent � went to President Donald Trump.

In all, just over $377,000, or 97%, went to Democrats, while just $12,704 went
to Republicans. Open Secrets tracked all political donations of USAID
employees to PACs and candidates over $200 via data from the Federal Election
Commission.

These numbers highlight the political bias Trump and his team have said they
need to root out from USAID. Trump on Monday said that the agency and its $50
billion annual budget were run by �radical left lunatics� who �went crazy
during the Biden administration� and were giving money �to people that
shouldn�t be getting� it. Elon Musk, who has been tasked with slashing federal
waste through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), said the agency
was �beyond repair.�

The Trump administration is in the process of rolling USAID into the State
Department, making Secretary of State Marco Rubio the acting administrator of
USAID. Rubio said his frustrations with the agency�s �insubordination� go back
to his time in Congress.

�We would ask them questions � �Who does this program fund? Who gets the
money?'� and not get responses, Rubio said. �These are taxpayer dollars,� he
added, saying, �We owe the American people assurances that every dollar we are
spending abroad is being spent on something that furthers our national
interest.�

Rubio noted that �a lot of functions� of the agency will continue, but they
will be aligned with American foreign policy.

Thousands of USAID staffers have been laid off since Trump took office, and a
slew of programs have been shut down.

On Monday, USAID staffers were told to stay out of the agency�s headquarters
in Washington, D.C., where yellow police tape and officers blocked the
entrance. The agency�s website disappeared on Saturday, and hundreds of USAID
employees reported being locked out of the agency�s computer systems Sunday
night.

Several Democrat senators have claimed that it is �illegal� for the president
to shut down the agency.

�Elon Musk may get to be dictator of Tesla. And he may try to play dictator
here in Washington, D.C., but he doesn�t get to shut down the Agency for
International Development,� Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said at a press
conference in front of the USAID headquarters on Monday.

Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) threatened to place a �blanket hold� on all of
Trump�s State Department nominees until the administration stops attacking the
agency.

--
Not a joke! Don't jump!