The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has funneled tens of millions of taxpayer dollars into projects that critics argue have little to do with U.S. interests. Now, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are shutting the agency down, rolling its operations into the State Department after a sweeping review exposed rampant waste and mismanagement.
USAID under fire
Originally established in 1961 to support global development, USAID’s recent spending has included controversial initiatives such as funding transgender healthcare in foreign countries, supporting electric vehicle projects in Vietnam, and bankrolling LGBTQ advocacy in Serbia. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio froze USAID’s $30 billion budget for 2025, prompting an immediate halt to several programs.
Eye-opening expenditures
- HIV research on transgender sex workers – A South African research facility received $30 million since 2018 to study HIV transmission among transgender individuals and sex workers.
- COVID-19 lab in China – USAID awarded $38 million in grants that ended up at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where COVID-19 is believed to have originated.
- Serbian LGBTQ funding – $1.5 million was given to a Serbian NGO to promote workplace inclusion for LGBTQ individuals.
- Electric vehicles in Vietnam – A $2.5 million grant resulted in just one battery station being built, preventing the use of only 260 gallons of gas.
- Transgender clinics – USAID helped open TransCare Clinic in Vietnam, aimed at providing specialized transgender healthcare.
- Atheism promotion – $500,000 was spent to promote atheism in Nepal.
- Peruvian trans comic books – $32,000 funded a transgender-focused comic book series in Peru.
- Colombian transgender opera – The State Department spent $25,000 on an opera in Colombia to increase transgender representation in the arts.
Musk and Trump shut it down
Musk called USAID “beyond repair,” and Rubio is now acting as the agency’s director as it undergoes its dissolution. Congressional Republicans have cheered the move, arguing that USAID has been more focused on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) abroad than supporting traditional diplomatic and infrastructure goals.
What happens next?
With USAID being absorbed into the State Department, Trump’s administration will now have direct oversight of all foreign aid expenditures. Critics argue that many of the agency’s previous projects were ideological in nature and did little to advance U.S. interests. Musk and Rubio have promised a full audit of where the remaining USAID funds were allocated before its dissolution is finalized.
