USAID

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was created in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy to form an umbrella agency for coordinating programs of foreign assistance related to socioeconomic development, global health, disaster relief, environmental protection, democratic governance, and other causes designed to counter Russian influence during the Cold War.  It is one of the world’s largest aid agencies and has missions in over 100 countries.  Kennedy established the agency by Executive Order in response to the Foreign Assistance Act passed by Congress on September 4, 1961.  [1]

In fiscal 2001 USAID spent about $24.6 billion in inflation adjusted 2023 dollars.  The most recent fiscal year with complete data (2023) shows foreign aid spending at $71.9 billion, whereas $74 billion was dispensed in fiscal 2022.  Essentially, in equivalent dollars, the spending has increased three-fold in just over 20 years.  

The annual budget is funded by tax revenues and appropriated by Congress.     

Figure 1: Annual spending by USAID [2]

Unless you just got back from Jupiter, you’re well aware of the uproar coming from Democrat members of Congress over the revelations brought forward by Elon Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).  In just the first few weeks of the Trump administration’s second term, Musk has publicized mind-boggling numbers in his quest to expose the staggering scope of government waste, fraud, and abuse from multiple agencies of the federal bureaucracy.  Created by Executive Order, the President has the authority to eliminate the agency completely and while that is not his intention, he is determined to downsize the workforce and cut the spending severely, which has triggered Democrats to the brink of hysteria.

Earlier this month the USAID began notifying contractors and grant recipients of the termination of about 230 awards, among others that are under consideration for cancellation.  The total value of the cancelled contracts is approximately $7.5 billion.

Here are a few of the contracts and awardees:  (these are NOT the Top Ten) [3]

$157.7 million to Chemonics International to “support swift operational transitions” (whatever that means) and initial funding in Libya

$115.8 million to DAI Global to implement water, sanitation, and conservation activity in Lebanon

$93.3 million to DAI Global to reform Ukraine’s financial sector to increase transparency and growth

$90 million to Deloitte Consulting to advance health reform and recovery efforts in Ukraine

$88.9 million to Research Triangle Institute to empower East and Central Africa to strengthen regional development initiatives in Kenya

$84.6 million to Chemonics International to empower Southern Africa to address development challenges and opportunities in South Africa

$83.1 million to Tetra Tech to expand electricity access and low-carbon power solutions in Nigeria

$79.4 million to Education Development Center to strengthen primary literacy skills across Kenya and East Africa

$73 million to Tetra Tech to facilitate Ghana’s transition to a just and decarbonized power sector

$72.9 million to Chemonics International to support community-based initiatives and stability efforts throughout Iraq

All of the Contractors listed above and others that have been cancelled are Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) that arguably participate in fraud, corruption, and money laundering that likely “boomerangs” back into the coffers of the very politicians who approve those appropriations.  In other words, the Congressional members that vote for the grants, get a piece of the pie to support their re-election, and likely some of the pie ends up as personal enrichment after going through several “wash cycles”.  I don’t know that to be fact (yet), but common sense tells me that politicians who earn $200,000 per year don’t find themselves worth tens of millions of personal wealth without some form of windfall gain, whether legitimate or criminal.  And those who protest with the most anger, are likely the ones losing the most, such as Chuck Schumer, Liz Warren, Hakeem Jeffries, Maxine Waters, Jamie Raskin, and the rest of the reprobates seen outside the USAID Building in the early days of Musk’s revelations.

Some other examples of suspected fraudulent USAID grants provided to foreign

countries and entities:  (this is just the “tip of the iceberg”)

$15 million for “contraceptives and condoms” to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan

$6 million for tourism in Egypt

$20 million for a Sesame Street show in Iraq

$2 million for sex change operations in Guatemala

$47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia

$32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru

$70,000 for a DEI musical in Ireland

$1.5 million for DEI in Serbia

$2 million to promote tourism in Lebanon

$2 million for pottery classes in Morocco

$1 million to help disabled people in Tajikistan become climate leaders

$10 million for voluntary medical male circumcision in Mozambique

$9.7 million to UC Berkeley to develop a “cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise driven skills”

$2.3 million for “strengthening independent voices” in Cambodia

$32 million to the Prague Civil Society Centre

$40 million for “gender equality and women empowerment hub”

$14 million for “improving public procurement” in Serbia

$486 million to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening”, including $22 million for “inclusive and participatory political process” in Moldova and $21 million for voter turnout in India

$29 million for “strengthening political landscape” in Bangladesh

$20 million for fiscal federalism in Nepal

$19 million for “biodiversity conversation” in Nepal

$1.5 million for voter confidence in Liberia

$14 million for “social cohesion” in Mali

$2.5 million for “inclusive democracies” in Southern Africa

$47 million for “improving learning outcomes” in Asia

$2 million to develop “sustainable recycling models” to “increase socio-economic cohesion among marginalized communities” of Kosovo Roma, Ashkall, and Egypt

$2 million here, 286 million there, among a list a mile long and pretty soon, you’re talking about real money.  We could pick any one of those grants apart in a cost/benefit analysis, but, needless-to-say, it’s absolutely outrageous that staggering sums of taxpayer dollars have been shipped overseas, even if they were for legitimate causes, which they are NOT.

Some other examples of suspected fraudulent USAID grants provided to foreign

countries and entities:  (this is just the “tip of the iceberg”)

$15 million for “contraceptives and condoms” to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan

$6 million for tourism in Egypt

$20 million for a Sesame Street show in Iraq

$2 million for sex change operations in Guatemala

$47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia

$32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru

$70,000 for a DEI musical in Ireland

$1.5 million for DEI in Serbia

$2 million to promote tourism in Lebanon

$2 million for pottery classes in Morocco

$1 million to help disabled people in Tajikistan become climate leaders

$10 million for voluntary medical male circumcision in Mozambique

$9.7 million to UC Berkeley to develop a “cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise driven skills”

$2.3 million for “strengthening independent voices” in Cambodia

$32 million to the Prague Civil Society Centre

$40 million for “gender equality and women empowerment hub”

$14 million for “improving public procurement” in Serbia

$486 million to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening”, including $22 million for “inclusive and participatory political process” in Moldova and $21 million for voter turnout in India

$29 million for “strengthening political landscape” in Bangladesh

$20 million for fiscal federalism in Nepal

$19 million for “biodiversity conversation” in Nepal

$1.5 million for voter confidence in Liberia

$14 million for “social cohesion” in Mali

$2.5 million for “inclusive democracies” in Southern Africa

$47 million for “improving learning outcomes” in Asia

$2 million to develop “sustainable recycling models” to “increase socio-economic cohesion among marginalized communities” of Kosovo Roma, Ashkall, and Egypt

$2 million here, 286 million there, among a list a mile long and pretty soon, you’re talking about real money.  We could pick any one of those grants apart in a cost/benefit analysis, but, needless-to-say, it’s absolutely outrageous that staggering sums of taxpayer dollars have been shipped overseas, even if they were for legitimate causes, which they are NOT.

By the way, the abovementioned “Awardees” to those cancelled contracts and grants have contributed to the political campaigns of federal candidates. [4]

Chemonics International

All federal candidates by party:

Democrats – $50,467 (98.63%)

Republicans – $700  (1.37%)

Kamala Harris – $35,415

Donald Trump – $440

DAI Global does not fund political contributions, in cash or in kind, anywhere in the world

Deloitte Consulting

All federal candidates by party:

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmte – $54,572

National Republican Senatorial Cmte  – $39,300

Kamala Harris – $762,257

Donald Trump – $46,514

Education Development Center

All federal candidates by party:

Democrats – several listed including Sen Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Rep Dan Goldman (D_NY) at $6,600 each

Republicans – none listed

Kamala Harris – $17,742

Donald Trump – $0

Research Triangle Institute

All federal candidates by party:

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmte – $19,915

Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte – $15,876

Republican Cmtes  – $0

Democrats – several listed including Sen Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), $8,613, Sen Adam Schiff (D-CA), 6,840, and Sen Mark Kelly (D-AZ) at $5,500

Republicans – none listed

Kamala Harris – $118,159

Donald Trump – $0

Tetra Tech

All federal candidates by party:

Democrats – $84,441 (67.5%)

Republicans – $40.652 (32.5%)

Kamala Harris – $57,977

Donald Trump – $15,086

I could go on and on, spending countless hours digging out details but the point is, there are numerous politicians of both parties who have been supported financially by the companies receiving government contracts and grants that total BILLIONS of taxpayer funds.  There are Republicans in the lists but most of them are Democrats, and many of them are the same Democrats you’ve seen outside the USAID building, and elsewhere, screaming into microphones as if they were genuinely concerned about the” primary literacy skills in Kenya”.

Nancy Pelosi’s net worth is estimated at $267.6 billion based on her holdings in companies like Apple, MicroSoft, Google, Amazon, and Netflix, but rumors have run rampant over the years into her suspicious buy/sell decisions at perfect moments in time, i.e., insider trading.

Other members, such as Mark Warner (D-VA) and Rick Scott (R-FL) gained their wealth from business ventures that pre-dated their civil service. [5]

According to Quiver Quantitative the following politicians are ranked in order of wealth based on their stock portfolios: (it should be understood these are only partial components of their true wealth) [6]

Rick Scott (R-FL) is ranked No. 1 with a net worth of $548.69M

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is ranked No. 2 with a net worth of $261.77M

Dan Goldman (D-NY) is ranked No. 6 with a net worth of $184.01M

Kevin Hern (R-OK) is ranked No. 10 with a net worth of $109.60M

From there, it drops off quickly, including some notables like,

Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is ranked No. 23 with a net worth of $50.53M

Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is ranked No. 40 with a net worth of $22.16M

Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is ranked No. 49 with a net worth of $18.92M

Debbie Dingell (D-MI) is ranked No. 69 with a net worth of $13.73M

Elizabeth Warren is ranked No. 110 with a net worth of $6.68M

Jamie Raskin (D-MD) is ranked No. 133 with a net worth of $5.01M

Adam Schiff (D-CA) is ranked No. 212 with a net worth of $1.84M

Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is ranked No. 214 with a net worth of $1.80M

Chuck Schumer’s total net worth is estimated at about $70 million.  Elizabeth Warren’s at about $67 million.

Tell us exactly how your net worth grew so substantially on a salary of $174,000.

What are the sources of your income ?

It is incumbent upon the Attorney General to conduct full audits and launch investigations into how Congressional members amassed millions in personal wealth from their positions of civil service.  We the People want indictments and prosecutions of every politician who has financially benefitted from foreign aid contracts and grants.

Comments welcomed.

FOOTNOTES

[1]  Wikipedia ; United States Agency for International Development 

United States Agency for International Development – Wikipedia

[2]  Desilver, D. ; What the Data Says About U.S. Foreign Aid ; Pew Research Center ; February 6, 2025

What the data says about US foreign aid | Pew Research Center

[3]  Siken, J. ; List of Terminated USAID Contracts and Grants ; HigherGov ; February 15, 2025

List of Terminated USAID Contracts and Grants

[4]  All campaign contribution data courtesy of OpenSecrets.org

[5]  Kutz, A. & Campbell, S. ; The Net Worth of Richest Congress Members ; NewsNation ; updated February 24, 2025

Congress’ richest members: Net worth of Nancy Pelosi, Rick Scott

[6]  Congress Live Net Worth Tracker ; Quiver Quantitative

Data on politician’s stock portfolios

Congress Live Net Worth Tracker | Quiver Quantitative