USAID has 'demonstrated pattern of obstructionism,' claims top DOGE Republican in letter to Rubio

FIRST ON FOX: The Senate seat of the DOGE Caucus is exposing a "demonstrated signifier of obstructionism" astatine the U.S.' apical assistance bureau successful a missive to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, outlined however the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been "stonewalling" her bureau for years arsenic she sought documents to guarantee payer dollars weren't wasted astatine the agency, which is present nether the microscope of billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

"USAID’s spending shows a blatant disregard for the wishes of American taxpayers, and it is clip to disrupt the system," Ernst told Fox News Digital. "The bureau has been wasting millions of taxation dollars connected things similar tourism successful Lebanon, Sesame Street successful Iraq, sending Ukrainians to Paris Fashion Week and truthful overmuch more."

In 1 instance, the Iowa Republican claims USAID misled her unit to judge that details astir funds going to businesses successful Ukraine were classified, funds that successful immoderate instances were utilized for question to manner shows and movie festivals. 

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Ernst is chairwoman of the DOGE caucus. (Reuters)

In 2024, aft months of delays, USAID yet agreed to connection Ernst's unit a reappraisal of recipients of taxpayer-funded assistance to businesses successful Ukraine, according to the letter. 

But the bureau insisted the documents beryllium reviewed successful a delicate compartmented accusation installation (SCIF), suggesting the records would beryllium classified. 

"These requirements were each presented to my unit nether the mendacious pretense that this information was classified," Ernst wrote to Rubio. "Only aft demanding to talk to your USAID Office of Security, my unit uncovered that this information was, successful fact, unclassified."

Ernst said that based connected her staff’s review, it appears that implicit 5,000 Ukrainian businesses received U.S. taxpayer-funded assistance, with awards of up to $2 cardinal each. 

WHAT IS USAID AND WHY IS IT IN TRUMP'S CROSSHAIRS?

That commercialized assistance was successful immoderate instances utilized to bankroll concern owners attending glamorous film festivals and manner shows successful cities similar Berlin, Paris and Las Vegas. 

She besides accused the bureau of "misleading" her bureau connected the costs of indirect aid. Negotiated indirect outgo agreements (NICRA) allowed contractors to usage much than 25 percent of the full grant connected costs similar "rent for a partner’s firm headquarters, advocacy costs, and different miscellaneous expenses."

READ ERNST'S LETTER BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE

Ernst said her unit reached retired successful November 2022 asking USAID for accusation connected NICRAs with assistance recipients. The bureau responded, "USAID does not person a strategy to way oregon study connected this data, arsenic it is not imaginable to comparison indirect costs betwixt for-profit and nonprofit organizations," according to Ernst. 

In February 2023, Ernst followed up with a nexus to a publically reported NICRA database that USAID confirmed does exist.

The bureau past said that it "protects the confidential concern accusation of its implementing partners, including NICRAs… extracurricular the scope of a ceremonial oversight petition by a committee of jurisdiction."

USAID is the apical U.S. planetary assistance agency, but Republicans reason its funds person been misappropriated. (AP Photo/Desmond Tiro)

Then, Ernst partnered with erstwhile House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul to springiness USAID the petition from a "committee of jurisdiction." 

"Even then, USAID refused to licence my unit to get the documents oregon instrumentality substantive notes connected the NICRA rates. The deficiency of transparency was alarming due to the fact that the NICRA rates acold exceeded staff’s expected scope of indirect costs allowed."

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Billionaire Elon Musk, the seat of DOGE, has been starring an probe into USAID's spending practices arsenic the bureau comes to a standstill. (Getty Images)

Ernst said: "In the aftermath of this bid of important misjudgments and oversight obstruction by USAID, it is of the utmost value to behaviour a afloat and autarkic investigation of the recipients of USAID assistance."

She besides pointed to Chemonics, a authorities contractor that USAID’s inspector wide recovered over-billed the U.S. authorities by $270 cardinal done fiscal twelvemonth 2019. Chemonics led a $9.5 cardinal USAID task to amended planetary wellness proviso chains that, "led to 41 arrests and 31 indictments related to illicit resale of USAID funded commodities connected the achromatic market, and fueled ongoing allegations that Chemonics falsely portrays its projects’ outcomes to unafraid aboriginal contracts with USAID," Ernst wrote. 

"No much stonewalling," said Ernst. "We request to scrutinize each past dollar being spent by this rogue agency."

In a announcement posted connected its website Tuesday night, USAID announced that each nonstop prosecute unit would beryllium placed connected permission globally, except for designated unit liable for mission-critical functions, halfway enactment and specially designated programs. 

The Trump medication is present exploring merging the bureau with the State Department and Rubio has been appointed its acting director. 

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Rubio told reporters successful El Salvador the "functions of USAID" indispensable align with overseas argumentation and called it a "a wholly unresponsive agency."

Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, staged a protestation extracurricular the USAID office connected Tuesday, arguing that the bureau is indispensable for flexing U.S. brushed powerfulness passim the world, preventing and monitoring illness outbreaks, and safeguarding U.S. nationalist security.

"USAID is the backbone of America’s brushed power, helping to stabilize fragile regions and support U.S. interests abroad," said Reps. Greg Meeks, apical Democrat connected the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sara Jacobs,Calif., apical Democrat connected the Africa subcommittee. 

"Weakening it volition substance planetary crises, endanger American security, embolden different nations similar China and Russia, and permission the Trump Administration solely liable for the fallout."