From LifeSiteNews

By Calvin Freiburger

Expenditures include $2 million for “sex change” operations in Guatemala, $20 million for a Sesame Street-type children’s show in Iraq, $7.9 million to train media in Sri Lanka not to use “gendered” language, $1.5 million for LGBT activism in Jamaica, $3.9 million for LGBT activism in Macedonia, and even $10 million for meals for the Nusra front, an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group in Syria.

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) took to the Senate floor to detail just some of ways the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been using American taxpayer dollars without the public’s knowledge or approval, making the case that it more than vindicates the Trump administration’s foreign aid freeze.

The Trump State Department recently issued a 90-day freeze on foreign aid disbursed through USAID, citing millions in waste and ideologically-biased programs. With exceptions for certain food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt, the pause is meant to give the administration time to conduct a more thorough review of foreign aid to determine what permanent cuts should be made.

On February 6, Kennedy highlighted several examples of USAID funding uncovered by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) advisory group, which dramatically contrast with the popular assumption that USAID merely offers help to the poor and sick around the world.

Musk “found that USAID gave money to support electric vehicles in Vietnam—our money, taxpayer money,” Kennedy said. “He found that USAID gave money to a transgender clinic in India. I didn’t know that. I bet you the American people didn’t know that.

“He found that USAID gave $1.5 million to a Serbian LGBTQ group,” he continued. “They got $1.5 million to ‘advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.’ What else did Mr. Musk find that my colleagues don’t want to talk about?”

Other expenditures include $2 million for “sex change” operations in Guatemala, $20 million for a Sesame Street-type children’s show in Iraq, $7.9 million to train media in Sri Lanka not to use “gendered” language, $1.5 million for LGBT activism in Jamaica, $3.9 million for LGBT activism in Macedonia, and even $10 million for meals for the Nusra front, an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group in Syria.

“We’re not talking Cub Scout troops here,” Kennedy said of $122 million that USAID distributed to groups linked to terrorism, including “organizations in Gaza controlled by Hamas […] Why? Why? Why aren’t my colleagues talking about that? Can anyone answer that? Recipients of the money they found have, quote, ‘called for their lands to be cleansed from the impurity of Jews.’ That’s who we’re giving foreign aid to?”

“This has been going on for a week,” Kennedy told his colleagues. “People have been screaming like they’re part of a prison riot. ‘Oh, my God, look at what Musk is doing. He’s looking at the spending.’ And I’ve listened to people talk about the process and debate whether it’s constitutional and discuss how many lawyers can dance on the head of a pen. But you know what? I haven’t heard one single person who’s upset with President Trump or Mr. Musk talk about what he’s found.”

“Now, I am not saying everything that USAID does is wasted, but I am saying a lot of it is—a h-ll of a lot of it is—and we ought to be on the floor of this United States Senate thanking Mr. Musk, and we ought to be asking him to go through every agency and look at everybody’s budget—everybody’s budget,” the senator said.

As LifeSiteNews previously covered, the Biden administration also directed millions of dollars to pro-abortion organizations through USAID. Over the weekend, however, a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration from putting USAID employees on paid leave, in which critics are calling a particularly extreme case of judicial overreach.

MxMNews

Quick Hit: 

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order mandating the return of plastic straws in federal government use, reversing what he called a “ridiculous” Biden-era push for paper alternatives.

Key Details: 

• Trump declared his decision on social media, calling Biden’s paper straw mandate “dead.”
• The president criticized paper straws for their poor durability, saying they “break” and “explode.”
• Environmental activists argue the move ignores the global plastic pollution crisis.

Diving Deeper: 

President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders Monday, including one that reverses the federal government’s use of biodegradable paper straws in favor of plastic. The decision follows Trump’s weekend announcement, where he vowed to end the “ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws.”

During the signing ceremony in the Oval Office, Trump reiterated his frustration with paper straws, telling reporters, “These things don’t work. I’ve had them many times, and on occasion, they break, they explode.” He assured Americans that they could once again “enjoy your next drink without a straw that disgustingly dissolves in your mouth.”

The shift has drawn swift criticism from environmental groups. Christy Leavitt, plastics campaign director for Oceana, argued the order prioritizes politics over sustainability. “President Trump is moving in the wrong direction on single-use plastics,” Leavitt said. “The world is facing a plastic pollution crisis, and we can no longer ignore one of the biggest environmental threats facing our oceans and our planet today.”

Trump’s executive order on plastic straws was just one of several actions taken Monday. He also signed a full pardon for former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was removed from office and imprisoned on public corruption charges. Blagojevich previously appeared on Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice in 2010 while under indictment and had his sentence commuted by Trump during his first term.

Additionally, Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to stop enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a 1977 law that criminalizes bribery of foreign officials to secure business deals. The move is expected to stir further debate over Trump’s approach to corporate regulation and foreign policy.

With his latest actions, Trump continues to dismantle policies tied to the Biden administration while reinforcing his focus on deregulation and personal freedoms—even in the form of a simple plastic straw.