Mereja.Forum

[Revelations]

USAID’s ‘long list of crap’: Karoline Leavitt cites millions in wasteful spending

• 1. $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala.
  2. $6 million to fund tourism in Egypt.
  3. Spent $20 million on “Ahlan Simsim” — a new Sesame Street show in Iraq.
  4. Over $4.5 million to “combat disinformation” in Kazakhstan.
  5. Up to $10 million worth of USAID-funded meals went to al Qaeda-linked terrorist group the Nusra Front.
  6. $500,000 to group that “empowers women” in an attempt to solve sectarian violence in Israel just 10 days before Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks.
  7. Awarded nearly $25 million to Deloitte to promote green transportation in Georgia (the country).
  8. $4.67 million to EcoHealth Alliance, one of the key nongovernmental organizations funding bat virus research at Wuhan Institute of Virology, in late 2021. Later refused to answer key questions about the funding.
  
  9. $20 million for the Strengthening Transparency and Accountability through Investigative Reporting program which used the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project as its implementing partner. The OCCRP was cited four times in the whistleblower letter that led to the Russiagate impeachment.
  10. USAID’s 2022-2030 climate strategy outlined a $150 billion “whole-of-Agency approach” to building an “equitable world with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.”
  11. $7.9 million to a project that would teach Sri Lankan journalists to avoid “binary-gendered language.”
  12. $1.1 million to an Armenian LGBT group.
  13. $1.2 million to the African Methodist Episcopal Church Service and Development Agency in Washington, D.C., to build “a state-of-the-art 440-seat auditorium.”
  14. $1.3 million to Arab and Jewish photographers.
  15. $1.5 million to promote LGBT advocacy in Jamaica.
  16. $1.5 million to “rebuild” the Cuban media ecosystem.
  17. $1.5 million for “art for inclusion of people with disabilities.”
  18. $2 million to promote “LGBT equality through entrepreneurship … in developing Latin American countries.”
  19. $2.1 million so the BBC can strengthen the media ecosystem in Libya, “designed to value the diversity of Libyan society.”
  20. $2.3 million for “artisanal and small-scale gold mining” in the Amazon.
  21. $2.5 million to promote “inclusion” in Vietnam.
  22. $3.9 million to LGBT causes in the Western Balkans.
  23. $5.5 million to LGBT in Uganda.
  24. $6 million to advance LGBT in “priority countries around the world.”
  25. $6 million to “Transform Digital Spaces to Reflect Feminist Democratic Principles.”
  26. $6.3 million to men who have sex with men in South Africa.
  27. $8.3 million for “USAID Education: Equity and Inclusion.”
  28. Another $16.8 million to a separate group in Vietnam for “inclusion.”

[Revelations]

USAID Under Fire After Taxpayer Dollars Fund Trans*gender Operas In Colombia, Afghanistan Opium Trade


The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is facing intense scrutiny after a damning report revealed decades of wasteful spending, questionable allocations, and outright abuse of taxpayer dollars.

From funding [deleted] operas in Colombia to supporting irrigation canals for poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, the agency’s spending habits have sparked outrage among lawmakers and taxpayers alike.

For years, USAID has operated with minimal oversight, funneling billions of dollars into projects that critics argue have little to no connection to its mission of promoting global development and humanitarian aid.

A recent review of USAID’s expenditures uncovered a litany of questionable allocations, including:

・$1.5 million to “advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”

・$70,000 for the production of a “DEI musical” in Ireland.

・$2.5 million for electric vehicles in Vietnam.

・$47,000 for a “[deleted] opera” in Colombia.

・$32,000 for a “[deleted] comic book” in Peru.

・$2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala.

・$6 million to fund tourism in Egypt.

Perhaps even more alarming are the revelations that USAID funds have indirectly benefited designated terrorist organizations and controversial entities. The report highlights:

・Hundreds of thousands of dollars were funneled to a non-profit linked to designated terrorist groups—even after an inspector general launched an investigation.

・Millions of dollars were awarded to EcoHealth Alliance, an organization involved in controversial research at the Wuhan lab, which has been at the center of debates over the origins of COVID-19.

・Hundreds of thousands of meals that ended up in the hands of al Qaeda-affiliated fighters in Syria.

One of the most egregious examples of USAID’s mismanagement is its role in Afghanistan’s opium trade. The agency spent hundreds of millions of dollars on irrigation canals, farming equipment, and fertilizer, which inadvertently supported unprecedented poppy cultivation and heroin production—ultimately benefiting the Taliban.

In response to the revelations, President Donald Trump has vowed to crack down on USAID’s wasteful spending and hold the agency accountable.

“For decades, USAID has been a black hole for taxpayer dollars, funding ridiculous and even malicious projects with no oversight,” the President said in a statement. “Under my administration, the waste, fraud, and abuse end now.”

The Trump administration has already begun implementing reforms, including stricter oversight measures, audits of existing programs, and a review of all future funding allocations.

The goal is to ensure that USAID’s resources are used effectively to promote genuine development and humanitarian aid, rather than serving as a slush fund for bureaucrats’ pet projects.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/gove ... r-AA1ylYTp

[Revelations]

Despite the fact that Moroccans have been making pottery for thousands of years, USAID spent more than $2 million for Moroccan pottery classes and promotion.

The idea clearly wasn't fully formed, because the translator they hired didn't even speak English.

https://x.com/SenJoniErnst/status/1886530930741010564

[Revelations]

"From funneling tax dollars to risky research in Wuhan to sending Ukrainians to Paris Fashion Week, USAID is one of the worst offenders of waste in Washington… all around the world," Ernst posted to X on Monday before rattling off a handful of examples.

Ernst highlighted that the agency "authorized a whopping $20 million to create a Sesame Street in Iraq."

Under the Biden administration, USAID awarded $20 million to a nonprofit called Sesame Workshop to produce a show called "Ahlan Simsim Iraq" in an effort to "promote inclusion, mutual respect, and understanding across ethnic, religious, and sectarian groups."

"As Iraq recovers from years of conflict, communities struggle to find a new sense of normalcy while physical and emotional wounds remain," an archived link to USAID's website reads. "The legacy of Iraq’s conflict with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) left many children without a stable home or displaced, especially those from Iraq’s ethnic and religious minorities. Additionally, Iraqi youth, who make up over half of the population, are unable to find jobs in an economy strained by war and corruption, creating vulnerabilities to radicalization."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/gove ... r-AA1ytKQ7

[almaze]

[Revelations]

Ivanka Trump Used USAID Money for Events, Records Show

According to USAID documents, Ivanka Trump used over $11,000 from the department in 2019 to buy video recording and reproducing equipment for a White House event.

The documents show $11,539 was to used by Trump in November 2019 to purchase software, CDs, tapes and records.

The purchase was approved by Jenifer Healy, who was serving as USAID deputy chief of staff at the time, and the Administrator's Office. It is not clear which White House event the equipment was used for.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... r-AA1ywPAW

[Revelations]

“DOGE was in the building. We started — we took down our Pride flags, we took down — I took out any books I felt would be incriminating,” she explained. “No one was talking. We heard they started taking transcripts automatically of all of our Google Meets. They unplugged the news in the little kitchen galleys. It didn’t feel good.”

https://www.bizpacreview.com/2025/02/05 ... s-1520827/

[ethiopianunity]

It is amazing, you never listed what USAID has been doing in Ethiopia when the number 2 fund recipient in the world is Ethiopia.

[OBANG]