Here Are the Top DOGE Takedowns So Far
Madeline Leesman
There’s been no shortage of headlines about President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Tesla founder Elon Musk. In recent weeks, DOGE has uncovered wasteful government spending by a slew of agencies. Here’s a rundown.
1. USAID
The USAID saga began at the beginning of the month when Trump took executive action to freeze the vast majority of all foreign aid payments made through USAID. DOGE played a major role in this.
“We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk wrote on X on Feb. 3.
From that point on, the reports detailing how USAID spent taxpayer dollars were jaw dropping.
As Mia covered, USAID was actively paying for "sex-change" procedures in Guatemala, as well as other woke “diversity” causes.
That’s not all. In March 2023, USAID set aside up to $1 million to help disabled people in Tajikistan become "climate leaders." In May 2023, USAID unveiled a $1.5 million effort aimed at "empowering women to adapt to climate change in northern Kenya.”
USAID enabled the border crisis by providing $45 million to provide emergency food assistance and economic support for Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. Additionally, the U.S. State Department paid for $14 million in cash vouchers for immigrants at the southern border and allocated $3.2 million toward helping migrants "readjust to life in Tunisia" after being deported.
Not to mention, USAID spent tens of millions of dollars on birth control and condoms abroad.
Matt reported how USAID paid for a radical Islamic terrorist’s college tuition. The terrorist, Anwar Awlaki, lied about his country of birth to obtain funding from the United States for college.
Matt also reported how it was revealed that USAID subsidized POLITICO, the left-wing news outlet, with millions of dollars.
"I was made aware of the funding from USAID to media outlets, including Politico, who I know has a seat in this room," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a press briefing. "I can confirm that the more than 8 million taxpayer dollars that have gone to essentially subsidize subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayers' dime will no longer be happening."
POLITICO responded to these claims, stating that they were false.
On Feb. 11, Paul Martin, inspector general of USAID, was fired after his office criticized the Trump administration’s reorganization of the agency.
Of course, the vast majority of donations from USAID workers went to Democrats, which Townhall also reported. As the agency is absorbed into the State Department, many of its workers will be furloughed.
