UMVA has learned that a web of corruption and waste ensnared the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), prompting President Trump to shut it down due to concerns over taxpayer money flowing directly and indirectly to groups promoting liberal agendas in opposition to U.S. policy.
The White House released a damning list of expenditures, revealing hundreds of thousands of dollars funneled to a nonprofit linked to designated terrorist organizations, millions to EcoHealth Alliance, which was involved in research related to a high-profile lab, and funding that resulted in hundreds of thousands of meals being distributed to fighters affiliated with a notorious terrorist group in Syria.
Beyond waste and fraud, USAID funds also flowed to organizations that were at odds with U.S. interests, including groups that funded protests against U.S. policies within the United States and undermined US policy abroad. A key figure emerged in the USAID corruption debate: a prominent donor to the Democratic Party and left-wing causes in the United States.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the donor's organization was listed as a "donor partner" by USAID in a 2001 annual report, and congressional testimony documented USAID grants to a group tied to the donor. The arrangement created a circular flow of taxpayer money, with federal funds flowing to groups linked to the donor that then supported left-wing activism, protests, and Democrat-aligned groups.
USAID awarded over $27 million to a donor-advised fund that masked the identity of original donors, allowing the donor to funnel money to various causes. The fund took in nearly $800 million in 2023, with major donors including the prominent donor and other liberal philanthropists.
The connection between USAID and the donor's network extended to domestic political activism, with organizations coordinating protests against Trump administration policies receiving millions of dollars in funding. Other groups in the same network receiving USAID funds included those seeking to abolish capitalism and fund anti-racist grassroots organizations.
USAID funds also flowed to groups supporting anti-Israel protests in the United States and Israel, including a prominent organization that received over $440,000. A review of records found that federal grants covering one part of a nonprofit's budget freed up other funds for unrelated activities, creating a complex pipeline of funding.
The House Judiciary Committee concluded that the Biden administration "provided grant funds to groups that contributed directly and indirectly to the judicial reform protests that sought to undermine the Israeli government." The terrorism connections were not limited to pass-through funding, with evidence of $164 million in approved USAID grants supporting radical or terror-tied organizations.
A congressional hearing revealed a "Democrat Circle of Life," where federal agencies fund NGOs, and former officials then leave government to work for the NGOs, collect taxpayer-funded salaries, and donate to Democrat campaigns. Federal Election Commission data showed that 97% of USAID employees' personal donations went to Democrats, and personnel records revealed former USAID officials moving into Democrat-aligned NGOs.
