MAGA’s 'chaotic attempt to shut down' USAID put $500 million of food supplies at risk — and more
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was established in 1961 under Democratic President John F. Kennedy, but many conservative Republicans praised its work over the years — as they believed its humanitarian aid helped the U.S. from a foreign policy standpoint.
But USAID, after 64 years, is being gutted by the second Trump Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by billionaire Tesla/SpaceX/X.com CEO Elon Musk.
President Donald Trump and Musk are criticizing USAID as wasteful. But according to Bloomberg News reporter Iain Marlow, millions of dollars of food may go to waste because of their attacks on USAID.
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Marlow, in an article published on February 13, details the fallout from the Trump Administration and DOGE's anti-USAID efforts.
"In a warehouse in the East African port of Djibouti," Marlow explains, "USAID estimates there's roughly 40,000 metric tons of food aid procured from American farmers worth about $40 million at risk of spoiling in the heat and humidity. There's also $10 million of emergency food supplies at risk in a South African warehouse and another $39 million of aid waiting for shipment from Houston, Texas, according to a report this week from the beleaguered agency's inspector general's office."
The Bloomberg News reporter adds, "The White House fired the agency's inspector general after the report came out. All told, the watchdog estimated there's nearly $500 million of emergency food assistance paid for by U.S. taxpayers at risk of being ruined by the Trump Administration's disruptive freeze of all U.S. foreign aid and Elon Musk's chaotic attempt to shut down the United States Agency for International Development, which has seen thousands of staff fired or put on leave and even its name stripped off its Washington headquarters."
Marlow reports that according to a lawsuit filed by Chemonics, a USAID partner, $240 million worth of health supplies and medicine are "in various stages of the supply chain" and may become unusable.
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Marlow reports, "The firm also has $150 million in health commodities stranded in warehouses and nearly $90 million worth of goods still in transit, the lawsuit says."
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Read Bloomberg News' full report at this link (subscription required).
