USAID activists say stopping 'corporate welfare' outweighs ending funds to terror-linked groups

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Protesters rallying against the sweep of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) accidental that ending "corporate welfare" should beryllium prioritized implicit looking astatine wealth being reportedly funneled to terror-linked groups.

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been conducting a reappraisal of "waste" identified wrong USAID, the authorities bureau that handles the organisation of overseas aid.

According to an investigation by the Middle East Forum, archetypal reported by the Wall Street Journal, the USAID and State Department person funneled astatine slightest $122 cardinal to groups aligned with designated terrorists and their supporters. A White House report besides identified $15 cardinal of payer dollars being spent connected condoms for the Taliban, a known violent group.

On Wednesday, Fox News Digital asked individuals protesting the USAID cuts extracurricular the U.S. Capitol their thoughts astir the bureau reportedly backing terrorist-aligned groups. 

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Fox News Digital spoke with individuals protesting the expanse of USAID. (Fox News Digital)

"I don't privation to perceive thing astir backing until we halt firm welfare," 1 protester, who was wearing a mask, told Fox News Digital.

"I deliberation earlier we speech astir backing that we're sending disconnected to different countries oregon devoting to mediocre radical successful this state that request help," helium added, "we request to speech astir the billions successful subsidies that we springiness to corporations similar Tesla, similar Space X."

Another individual, besides wearing a mask, said giving wealth to issues that don't prioritize helping Americans is "crazy."

"We request to beryllium worrying astir our people. We're not retired present giving wealth to assistance our radical present and suffering," they told Fox. "Any wealth going toward different issues is conscionable crazy."

Protesters gathered extracurricular the U.S. Capitol connected Monday to rally against Elon Musk's crackdown connected USAID spending. (Fox News Digital)

Asked astir backing to terrorist-linked groups, Michael, a subordinate of Veterans for Peace, said, "Funding has to beryllium looked at, but I would fishy that that's a precise tiny number of the backing that the U.S. does."

"Foreign assistance is little than 1% of the U.S. budget. So it's a precise tiny monetary number," helium added. "And similar each programs, it needs to beryllium evaluated each truthful often. And I deliberation that the tiny fig of programs who supposedly are connected with unsavory benignant groups are successful the minority."

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The protesters each expressed absorption to Musk's role successful the Trump medication arsenic helium spearheads efforts to chopped costs wrong the national government.

"If the White House would instrumentality the clip to look astatine wherever the backing goes, I deliberation they'd beryllium much than blessed with the results and the interaction of U.S. payer dollars to marque the U.S. safer, stronger, and much prosperous," said Mary, who is retired.

The protesters each expressed absorption to Musk's relation starring efforts to chopped costs wrong the national government. (Fox News Digital)

Several Democratic lawmakers spoke astatine the rally, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, and Reps. John Garamendi and Lateefah Simon of California.

The White House issued a study that revealed wherever payer dollars person been funneled done the agency, specified arsenic implicit $400,000 to "help Indonesian java companies go much clime and sex affable done USAID."

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Musk said connected X that helium and President Donald Trump came to an statement that the bureau needed to beryllium unopen down.

Fox News Digital's Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.