Karoline Leavitt brought the receipts on Monday. The Trump White House Press Secretary took center stage, exposing a series of outrageous spending initiatives by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Leavitt detailed how taxpayer dollars have been funneled into controversial international projects, including a DEI musical in Ireland and a transgender opera in Colombia. “This is what USAID has been spending American taxpayer dollars on,” she said as she laid out the numbers.
“$1.5 million to advance DEI in Serbian workplaces. $70,000 for a DEI musical in Ireland. $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia. $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru,” she continued.
“I don’t know about you, but as an American taxpayer, I don’t want my dollars going towards this crap. And I know the American people don’t either,” she finished.
Leavitt’s takedown of USAID spending comes amid efforts by President Trump’s administration to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government. Leading that charge is tech billionaire Elon Musk, who was recently tasked with spearheading the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
WATCH:
Reports surfaced Monday that USAID had temporarily shut down its headquarters, with personnel receiving an email from “Agency leadership” informing them of the move. The email directed all inquiries to an address linked to Gavin Kliger, a special adviser within the Office of Personnel Management and a key figure in DOGE, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The shake-up followed a statement from Musk, who announced Monday morning that President Trump had “agreed” to shutter USAID entirely. The agency, which administers billions of dollars in foreign aid across more than 100 countries, has long been a target of conservative criticism for its alleged misallocation of funds.
On January 20, President Trump issued Executive Order 14169, titled “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid,” which mandated a 90-day suspension of all U.S. foreign development assistance programs to conduct a comprehensive review.
Musk, joined by former DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy and Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, said USAID was beyond reform. “As we dug into USAID, it became apparent that what we have here is not an apple with a worm in it, but we have actually just a ball of worms,” Musk stated, per The Hill. “And when there is no apple, you’ve just got to basically get rid of the whole thing.”
Over 600 USAID employees were locked out overnight, according to AP. Musk and DOGE have been pushing for access to USAID’s classified files, including intelligence reports.
“We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk remarked during an X Spaces chat. On Sunday, he called USAID “a criminal organization.” Trump also criticized the agency, saying, “It’s been run by a bunch of radical lunatics. And we’re getting them out.”
The government agency was established in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy in 1961. The USAID operated with a multi-billion-dollar budget, larger than the State Department and CIA combined, according to recent reports.
It worked independently but collaborates with other government agencies like the Department of Defense and United Nations. Critics argued USAID has been used for political influence, regime change, and covert operations.
