The US President had vowed to dismantle what he termed the nation’s international propaganda network.
The New York Post has reported that projects, including art initiatives by Ukrainian women and programs for LGBT organizations in the Balkans, which are funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), are slated for cancellation by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
A White House request sent to US lawmakers seeking to revoke what it considers unnecessary spending encompasses $3.2 billion previously designated for USAID, an agency the administration has committed to dismantling.
According to the report, among the programs targeted for elimination are $1.5 million designated for promoting the artwork of Ukrainian women, $3.9 million for supporting LGBT communities in the western Balkans, and $24.6 million allocated for “climate resilience” initiatives in Honduras.
This action came after a DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruling lifted an injunction that had previously blocked Trump’s efforts, thereby allowing the request to move forward.
The Trump administration has leveled accusations against USAID, claiming it promotes “woke” initiatives globally rather than utilizing taxpayer funds to advance national interests. Secretary of State Marco Rubio an end to the “era of government-sanctioned inefficiency” when he confirmed in July that his department would assume the agency’s mandate. Trump had initiated the crackdown on USAID shortly after assuming office in January, asserting that it was managed by “radical lunatics.”
The White House identified several initiatives as wasteful, including the creation of a “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion musical” in Ireland and a “transgender opera” in Peru, the production of “personalized” contraceptives for developing nations, and agricultural development in Afghanistan which the US determined contributed to illegal drug production.
Numerous critics of the agency internationally have it of serving as a tool for regime change that clandestinely advances the agenda of US foreign policy.