No federal agency epitomizes waste, corruption, and unchecked power like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). President Donald Trump was right to scrutinize this bureaucratic behemoth, and now that he’s back in the White House, he must take decisive action—because USAID is more than just a waste of taxpayer dollars. It is a slush fund for leftist ideologues, globalist elites, and, in some cases, terrorists.

A Rogue Agency Without Real Oversight

Unlike agencies created by congressional statute, USAID was established by executive order in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy. The Foreign Assistance Act of that year granted broad latitude for foreign aid, but Congress never explicitly codified USAID as a stand-alone agency.

Since it was created by executive order, it can certainly be eliminated by one.

Unfortunately, some on Capitol Hill struggle with this concept—but you shouldn’t. USAID’s structure has allowed its bureaucratic class alarming independence, giving free rein to bankroll globalist fantasies and ideological pet projects without real accountability.

Herein lies a fundamental problem—not just with USAID but with the deep state in general: When government agencies operate with unchecked power and ideological mission creep, they cease serving the American people. Instead, they become vehicles for unelected elites to impose their worldview at taxpayer expense—wholly unaccountable to the Republic’s citizens.

It sounds a lot like authoritarianism, doesn’t it?

How USAID Burns Through Your Tax Dollars

USAID’s financial activities have frequently aligned with the grant-making priorities of George Soros’s Open Society Foundations.

Concerns about USAID’s reckless spending are hardly new. In 2014, a damning report revealed that the agency’s Inspector General removed critical details from public reports, shielding negative information from oversight.

Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, a long-standing critic of the agency, has exposed massive waste and stonewalling from USAID bureaucrats. In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ernst highlighted several outrageous expenditures, including:

• $2 million for Moroccan pottery classes: Because taxpayer-funded ceramics in North Africa are a higher priority than Americans affording groceries. 
• Over $1 million for research at the Wuhan lab: Yes, that Wuhan lab—the one linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Presumably, this is separate from the $4.67 million USAID funneled to EcoHealth Alliance (see below), though USAID’s habitual lack of transparency makes it impossible to confirm. 
• $20 million for a “Sesame Street” program in Iraq: Because nothing says “fiscal responsibility” like funding puppets in a foreign country while Social Security faces insolvency. There is no word on whether a more cynical Baghdad Bob voices Osman the Grouch.
• $9 million in humanitarian aid that allegedly ended up in terrorist hands: Watchdog reports confirm USAID-funded food assistance directly benefitted jihadist factions in Syria.

One of Senator Ernst’s most troubling claims concerned a federal inspector general report exposing alleged misconduct by Chemonics, a principal USAID contractor.

The report found Chemonics overbilled the federal government by as much as $270 million through fiscal year 2019—an astronomical sum siphoned off with seemingly little oversight. However, financial fraud was just the tip of the iceberg.

Investigators also uncovered allegations that Chemonics had funneled kickbacks to a terrorist organization—the Taliban—while executing USAID-funded programs in Afghanistan.

Chemonics played a central role in USAID’s $9.5 billion global health supply chain initiative, which spiraled into widespread corruption, dozens of arrests, and multiple indictments after USAID-funded medical supplies were caught being resold on the black market.

Yet despite these explosive findings, Chemonics walked away with a mere $3.1 million settlement—pennies on the dollar—just before the Biden-Harris administration left office.

To make matters worse, Ernst accused USAID of stonewalling her staff, obstructing investigations, and even resorting to legal threats in a desperate attempt to avoid accountability.

But as troubling as these revelations are, they barely scratch the surface.

Here’s just a sample of the lunacy USAID has bankrolled with your tax dollars:

• Funding Sex Changes in Latin America: Millions dumped into foreign LGBT activism, including “gender-affirming” procedures. 
• Bankrolling EcoHealth Alliance’s Wuhan Lab Work: The same organization involved in gain-of-function research received $4.67 million from USAID—details remain undisclosed.
• 3D-Printing IUDs in Third-World Countries: Nothing says “progress” like a villager without clean water, medicine, or electricity—yet somehow with access to a high-tech 3D printer for contraception. Poor in the streets but a freak in the sheets. 
• Propping Up Afghan Opium Production: U.S. tax dollars irrigated poppy fields that ultimately enriched the Taliban.
• Attempted Regime Change in Cuba: USAID reportedly ran an HIV prevention campaign as a cover for clandestine political destabilization. Did the Commander-in-Chief sign off? 
• Millions funneled to terror-tied NGOs: A federal watchdog report exposed how USAID funding flowed to NGOs with terrorist ties. Under Biden, USAID continued sending more taxpayer funds.

Shut It Down

The president must launch a full forensic audit of USAID in coordination with Congress. Every taxpayer dollar must be accounted for.

Transparency is not a privilege simply extended to us—it’s a demand. And accountability cannot be optional.

Furthermore, USAID is a creature of executive order. The duly elected president has every right and every authority to shut it down. Progressives must accept constitutional reality—and the will of the American electorate.

Live by executive fiat, die by executive fiat.

Charlton Allen is an attorney, former chief executive officer, and chief judicial officer of the North Carolina Industrial Commission. He is the founder of the Madison Center for Law & Liberty, Inc., editor of The American Salient, and the host of the Modern Federalist podcast. X: @CharltonAllenNC

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