Ivanka Trump used USAID money for White House event: Report

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has revealed that new documents show Ivanka Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump, received funds from the organisation. The organisation provides humanitarian aid to war-torn countries.

This comes against the backdrop of Donald Trump and Elon Musk-led Department of Government of Efficiency crack down on "wasteful spending' on programmes and mismanagement by USAID.

Ivanka Trump who worked as an advisor in the last Trump administration, received over $11000 from the agency to buy video recording and reproducing equipment for a White House event as per a report by Newsweek.

In November 2019, Ivanka used $11,539 to purchase software, CDs, tapes and records, the document shows. The purchase was approved by the then USAID deputy chief of staff and Administrator's Office, Jenifer Healy. However, it is not clear which event in the White House the equipment was used for.

The White House released a list of foreign aid programmes the administration views as wasteful that are likely to be cut. They include $20 million for a "new Sesame Street show in Iraq," as well as $1.5 million and $5.5 million to promote LGBTQ+ advocacy in Jamaica and Uganda, two countries where members of the LGBTQ+ community have few legal rights. Uganda has one of the world's strictest antigay laws, including the death penalty.

"For decades, USAID bureaucrats believed they were accountable to no one—but that era is over. President Trump is STOPPING the waste, fraud, and abuse," the White House stated.

USAID sent $1.5 million to advance DEI in Serbia workplaces, $70000 for a "DEI musical" in Ireland and $32000 for a "transgender comic book in Peru." Other wasteful expenses of USAID, the report claimed were $47000 on a transgender opera in Colombia, $5 million to EcoHealthAlliance which is one of key NGO "funding bat virus research at the Wuhan lab." White House press secretary detailed the aforementioned information at a press conference.

She went on to say "I don't know about you, but as an American taxpayer, I don't want my dollars going towards this crap. And I know the American people don't either. And that's exactly what Elon Musk has been tasked by President Trump to do. To get the fraud , waste and abuse out of the federal government."

Elon Musk, agreeing with Donald Trump's move to shut the agency down said during an X Spaces stream, "I actually checked with him a few times. Said 'Are you sure?' Yes, so we're shutting it down."

The report by Newsweek, highlighted that these programmes amount to a small portion of spending by the US government. Congress in the fiscal year 2023 allocated $43.4 billion to USAID which is just 0.7 per cent of the total $6.134 trillion federal budget.