Donald Trump’s White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for allocating taxpayer dollars to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives overseas.

Speaking on the issue, Leavitt highlighted specific instances of spending that she argued do not reflect the priorities of the American people.

Leavitt outlined a series of USAID expenditures that she labeled as wasteful, including DEI workplace programs, musical productions, and transgender-focused media projects in various countries.

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“Through USAID over the past several years, these are some of the insane priorities that that organization has been spending money on,” Leavitt stated.

“$1.5 million to advance DEI in Serbia’s workplaces. $70,000 for a production of a DEI musical in Ireland. $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia. $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru,” she listed.

Leavitt made clear that these allocations are out of touch with the concerns of the American taxpayer.

“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,” she said.

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Leavitt emphasized that President Trump has directed Elon Musk to identify and eliminate unnecessary and excessive federal spending.

“That’s exactly what Elon Musk has been tasked by President Trump to do, to get the fraud, waste, and abuse out of our federal government,” she explained.

The Trump administration has been vocal about the need to redirect taxpayer funds away from ideological projects and focus on policies that benefit American citizens.

Leavitt also touched on the significance of exposing and addressing wasteful government spending, emphasizing that these issues extend beyond USAID and into local governance.

The criticism of USAID’s spending follows broader concerns from the Trump administration about federal agencies using taxpayer funds for cultural and ideological initiatives instead of core government functions.

The debate over DEI spending in government programs has become a central issue in Trump’s second-term agenda, as his administration pushes to cut funding for projects it views as unnecessary.

As scrutiny over federal expenditures grows, the Trump administration has signaled that reducing waste and ensuring responsible use of taxpayer money will be a top priority moving forward.

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