Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) stated on Friday that Democrats were targeting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Co-Chairman Elon Musk to divert attention from excessive spending at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Trump administration announced plans for layoffs affecting over 95% of USAID’s workforce, according to a report by The New York Times. Kennedy argued that despite Democratic claims, President Donald Trump had the authority to “review the spending” that he “delegated” to the Tesla CEO.
“I was paying especially close attention to what the president had to say about reviewing spending. I think it would be fair to say President Trump is dug in like a tick,” Kennedy told “The Story” host Martha MacCallum. “He’s going to continue. He ran on this issue and said, ‘If I am elected president, I would review the spending.’ Now, I don’t know how you review the spending without reviewing the spending. No fair-minded person can doubt the president of the United States has the authority to review the spending in the executive branch. He has delegated that authority to Elon Musk.”
Trump appointed Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as co-chairs of DOGE on Nov. 12 after securing the presidency. Ramaswamy left DOGE on Jan. 20 and is reportedly planning to run for governor of Ohio in 2026.
“A lot of my Democratic colleagues and most of the members of the tofu crowd are very upset. They’re screaming like Musk stole their dog or something,” Kennedy said. “But one thing they are not talking about is what Mr. Musk is finding. Just at the USAID, he found hundreds of millions, maybe billions of dollars’ worth of spending porn.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the decision to significantly cut USAID’s workforce during a press conference in El Salvador, stating that his concerns about the agency’s oversight date back to his time in Congress. He described USAID as “completely unresponsive” and “not functioning” as intended. Similarly, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) voiced concerns during a Feb. 3 discussion with Musk and Ramaswamy on X, alleging that USAID officials threatened her when she sought information on humanitarian aid to Ukraine as part of congressional oversight.
USAID has faced criticism from conservatives for funding left-wing social initiatives. The agency reportedly provided funds to EcoHealth Alliance, which was involved in gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. It also financed the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), whose reporting on former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was cited in the whistleblower complaint that led to Trump’s first impeachment.
USAID additionally allocated $45 million for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) scholarships in Burma and $21 million for renewable electricity projects in Lebanon. The agency also provided millions to Palestine, some of which is feared to have ended up with Hamas, the terrorist group responsible for the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel.
Trump’s executive order to freeze most foreign aid programs while reassessing government spending was supported by 56% of respondents in a Reuters-Ipsos poll released Wednesday.
