‘Sesame Street in Iraq’: USAID’s ‘wasteful and dangerous’ spending exposed by senator
Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst published a list of projects and programs she says the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has helped fund across the years, highlighting it as “wasteful and dangerous” spending that has gripped taxpayers until the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) stepped in. “From funneling tax dollars to risky research in Wuhan to sending Ukrainians to Paris Fashion Week, USAID is one of the worst offenders of waste in Washington… all around the world,” Ernst posted to X on Monday before rattling off a handful of examples. Ernst highlighted that the agency “authorized a whopping $20 million to create a Sesame Street in Iraq.” Under the Biden administration, USAID awarded $20 million to a nonprofit called Sesame Workshop to produce a show called “Ahlan Simsim Iraq” in an effort to “promote inclusion, mutual respect, and understanding across ethnic, religious, and sectarian groups.” “As Iraq recovers from years of conflict, communities struggle to find a new sense of normalcy while physical and emotional wounds remain,” an archived link to USAID’s website reads. “The legacy of Iraq’s conflict with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) left many children without a stable home or displaced, especially those from Iraq’s ethnic and religious minorities. Additionally, Iraqi youth, who make up over half of the population, are unable to find jobs in an economy strained by war and corruption, creating vulnerabilities to radicalization.” USAID’s website shut down this week as DOGE and tech billionaire Elon Musk put the agency under its microscope. ‘VIPER’S NEST’: USAID ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION, MISMANAGEMENT LONG BEFORE TRUMP ADMIN TOOK AIM The show is styled like the American kids’ show “Sesame Street,” and was granted funding that began in 2021 and runs until 2027, according to the achieved website. The show continues to air in the Middle East, a review of its website shows. In another example Ernst highlighted, USAID was found to have provided millions of dollars to farmers in Afghanistan in an effort to get them to grow food instead of poppy fields and opium. The plan, however, backfired and led to an increase in poppy production, and thus opium production, during the war in Afghanistan. “During the height of the war in Afghanistan, USAID spent millions of dollars to help Afghans grow crops instead of opium,” Ernst posted to X Monday. “The results: opium poppy cultivation across the country nearly doubled, according to the UN.” USAID CLOSES HQ TO STAFFERS MONDAY AS MUSK SAYS TRUMP SUPPORTS SHUTTING AGENCY DOWN USAID, as well as the U.S. military, paid farmers to build or rehab miles of irrigation canals in the Helmand province, Afghanistan, during the Obama administration in an effort to persuade the farmers to grow fruits and other plants, the Washington Post reported in 2019. The farmers, however, used the canals to grow poppies. Poppy production almost doubled in the region between 2010 and 2014, the Post reported, citing U.N. figures. In another example, Ernst said USAID spent $2 million to fund “Moroccan pottery classes and promotion.” Morocco has for thousands of years created pottery, dating back to 6,000 B.C. Former Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, who died in 2020, published a government “waste book” in 2012 detailing that USAID “began pursuing a four year plan to improve the economic competitiveness of Morocco” beginning in 2009, which included $27 million in funding. A portion of the funding was directed to a program that “involved training Moroccans to create and design pottery to sell in domestic and international markets,” according to the report. The American pottery instructor hired to teach local artists, however, was unable to communicate with them as a translator for the program was “not fluent in English,” according to the waste book. GOP HARDLINERS RALLY AROUND TRUMP, MUSK SCALING BACK USAID “An American pottery instructor was contracted to provide several weeks of training classes to local artists to improve their methods and teach them how to successfully make pottery that could be brought to market,” the waste book reported. “Unfortunately, the translator hired for the sessions was not fluent in English and was unable to transmit large portions of the lectures to the participants.” Ernst added in another example that USAID “funneled nearly $1 million into batty research on coronaviruses at China’s infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology, which the CIA admits was the likely source of COVID-19.” The Government Accountability Office published a report in 2023 finding that both USAID and the National Institutes of Health directed taxpayer funds to American universities and a nonprofit organization before the money found its way to Chinese groups, including the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The report found that between 2014 and 2021, U.S. taxpayer funds were redirected to entities, including the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Wuhan University and the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, which is part of the Chinese Communist Party. The three groups each received more than $2 million combined from the U.S. government “through seven subawards,” according to the report. USAID EMPLOYEE SAYS STAFFERS HID PRIDE FLAGS, ‘INCRIMINATING’ BOOKS WHEN DOGE ARRIVED “The selected entities are government institutions or laboratories in China that conduct work on infectious diseases, including pandemic viruses, and have had actions taken by federal agencies to address safety or security concerns,” the report states. “All three selected Chinese entities received funds.” In January, the CIA under the second Trump administration released an updated assessment on the origins of COVID-19, favoring the theory that the contagious disease was due to a lab leak. The CIA previously had maintained that it did not have sufficient evidence to conclude whether COVID originated in a lab or a “wet market” in Wuhan, China. Ernst claimed in the X thread that USAID also provided funds to boost tourism to Lebanon and to send Ukrainian models to fashion week. “The agency spent $2 million promoting tourism to Lebanon, a nation the State Department warns against traveling to ‘due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, unexploded landmines, and the risk of armed conflict,’” she wrote. “USAID spends
Drone footage of cartel warfare is ‘indicative’ of danger still present at border, says Rep. Chip Roy
After drone video footage surfaced of an apparent cartel-on-cartel gunfight just south of the U.S. border with Mexico, Republican Congressman Chip Roy of Texas is calling attention to the danger still present at the border. The footage, which Roy obtained from sources on the border, was taken by a cartel drone and shows two sets of vehicles exchanging gunfire near the U.S. border. Video taken by the drone shows the operator eventually drop some type of missile, seeming to eliminate shooters on one side. Speaking with Fox News Digital, Roy said that the knowledge that cartels own drones with weapon capabilities “open[s] up a whole other frontier that we’ve got to manage and deal with border security.” “Seeing that and adding it into what we know about the extent to which the cartels are heavily armed and have significant resources… it is indicative of the kind of danger that we’re talking about,” said Roy. MEXICAN CARTELS TARGETING BORDER PATROL AGENTS WITH KAMIKAZE DRONES, EXPLOSIVES AMID TRUMP CRACKDOWN: REPORT This comes just days after U.S. Border Patrol agents exchanged gunfire with suspected cartel members near the U.S.-Mexican border in Fronton, Texas. “We’re seeing more of that,” said Roy. He noted that as President Donald Trump and his administration take major steps to crack down on illegal immigration and migrant crime within the U.S., he “would expect the cartels to flex more muscle in Mexico,” requiring the U.S. to work more closely with Mexican authorities to quash any increase in violence. “They recognize now that they’ve got a United States of America that is serious,” he said. “My guess is they’re not stupid enough to have the kind of overt aggression across our border… I’d speculate that they’re going to try to manipulate a great deal of the police and military forces in Mexico.” HEGSETH, HOMAN TOUR BORDER AS MILITARY HELPS WITH DEPORTATION FLIGHTS, OPS AGAINST CARTELS In response, Roy said he expects Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will move to “work in good faith with Mexico to strengthen their ability to have the rule of law and root out cartels.” The congressman, who has introduced legislation to designate cartels “foreign terrorist organizations,” said that Trump’s executive order to do the same is an important step to rooting out the cartel problem both in the U.S. and Mexico. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “This administration has already had more presence at the border than the entirety of the four years of the Biden administration… The cartels now know that you have a president in the country that means business, and they’re probably trying to figure out what their positioning needs to be.” ICE ARRESTS UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP CONTINUE IN MIGRANT ‘SANCTUARY’ CITIES U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) declined to comment on the drone footage. A CBP spokesperson told Fox News Digital that “threats and assaults against CBP personnel are taken very seriously.” “We remain vigilant and stand ready to ensure the safety of our personnel, aliens, and local communities, and the security of our borders,” said the spokesperson.
GOP rebels push for $2.5 trillion cuts in Trump budget bill during tense closed-door meeting
Republican spending hawks in the House of Representatives are pushing their leaders to include at least $2.5 trillion in spending cuts in a massive piece of legislation intended to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda. Republicans held their weekly closed-door agenda meeting on Wednesday where they discussed a path forward via the budget reconciliation process. By lowering the threshold in the Senate from two-thirds to a simple majority – which the House already operates under – reconciliation allows the party in power to pass sweeping fiscal policy changes while skirting the opposition. Several sources told Fox News Digital there was significant “frustration” within the House GOP conference on Wednesday over a lack of a concrete final plan from Republican leadership. SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN One GOP lawmaker said that tension bubbled up with several “heated exchanges,” with conservatives demanding a concrete plan and minimum spending cuts at significantly higher levels than what was initially proposed. “I think there’s a lot of frustration right now,” the lawmaker told Fox News Digital. “They’ve been trying to be inclusive, but not every open forum they’ve offered is giving members the ability to say, ‘I feel like people are listening to me,’ because I don’t know that’s the case right now.” There’s also concern that the Senate, which is growing impatient with the House, could move forward with its own plan if the House doesn’t release one first – which House Republicans worry will include much shallower spending cuts than what could pass in the lower chamber. “What we’re worried about is losing the opportunity. I think we’re more likely to cut than they are,” a second GOP lawmaker said. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham R-S.C., announced plans to move forward with the upper chamber’s own bill on Wednesday afternoon. He now plans to advance a measure through his committee next week. A third House Republican said GOP lawmakers were fed up waiting for a “play call.” But senior House GOP aides pushed back on the notion there was no play call, pointing out that Republican leaders held countless listening sessions culminating at the recent three-day House GOP retreat in Miami to consult members and emerge with a blueprint for a one-bill strategy that maintains scoring flexibility. The aides said the reconciliation process has had a 95% participation rate among House Republicans. House GOP leaders were forced to delay a key vote on advancing a reconciliation bill through the House Budget Committee, the first step in the process, after spending hawks pushed back on initial proposals for spending cuts between $300 billion and $600 billion. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said on Tuesday night that it would likely be planned for next week, but that leaders’ final goal of having a bill on Trump’s desk in May remained unimpeded. Three sources told Fox News Digital that leaders are floating a plan that would include roughly $1.65 trillion as a baseline for spending cuts, though two people stressed they saw the figure as one of several tentative ideas rather than a final plan. Two other sources said it would also include measures that lead to an additional $1.65 trillion in economic growth. Republicans are trying to pass a broad swath of Trump policies via reconciliation, from more funding for border security to eliminating taxes on tips and overtime wages. Trump has also made clear that he views extending his Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 as vital to the process. NONCITIZEN VOTER CRACKDOWN LED BY GOP AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS The tax cuts have proved a sticking point with some spending hawks, however, because several estimates show they could add upwards of $1 trillion to the federal deficit over 10 years if extended. Those spending hawks have said they support extending the tax cuts but are seeking deep funding rollbacks elsewhere to offset them. Three people involved in the discussions also told Fox News Digital that House GOP leaders are considering extending the TCJA tax cuts by five years instead of 10 to mitigate those concerns. Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., two conservative members of the House Budget Committee, both told reporters they wanted to see the baseline for spending cuts set at roughly $2.5 trillion. Roy told reporters that $2.5 trillion would amount to roughly $250 billion per year in federal savings over 10 years – while pointing out the U.S. was currently running a $36 trillion national debt. House GOP leaders vowed to seek $2.5 trillion in spending cuts back in December, to get conservatives on board with a bill averting a partial government shutdown. “They said $2.5 trillion of cuts. So, deliver. That will unlock the door,” Roy said. Norman told reporters multiple times this week that he wants between $2 trillion and $3 trillion in cuts.
USAID staffers stunned, angered by Trump admin’s DOGE shutdown of $40B agency
Staffers and contractors who work with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were stunned and angered after President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – the government accountability unit headed by billionaire Elon Musk – effectively shut down the $40 billion agency on Monday. One USAID staffer who wished to remain anonymous told Fox News Digital that 80% of staff across its bureaus learned they lost access to the agency’s systems on Monday morning, including travel, communications, classified information and databases – leading to questions about how to repatriate American citizens in some of the most dangerous places in the world should the need arise. Staffers also feel they were “left high and dry” and “have no idea what to do or where to turn” after being “abandoned by Congress and the government,” the source said, adding they felt the agency was “hostilely taken over by DOGE.” “The richest man in the world is taking this away from the poorest people in the world,” the source said of Musk. WHAT IS USAID AND WHY IS IT IN TRUMP’S CROSSHAIRS? USAID was set up in the early 1960s to act on behalf of the U.S. to deliver aid across the globe, particularly in impoverished and underdeveloped regions. The Trump administration alleges that much of the spending has been wasteful, promoting a liberal agenda around the world. DOGE has particularly criticized a $1.5 million program slated to “advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities” and a $70,000 program for a “DEI musical” in Ireland. Democrats counter that the agency plays a vital role in U.S. national security interests and say it should remain independent. They point to the work USAID did to counter Soviet influence during the Cold War – a sphere of influence that could remain a concern amid China’s Belt and Road Initiative. “It’s not a generosity project,” the source said of USAID, “this is a national security agency and effort at its core” that “protects borders and cuts threats off,” such as working to contain Ebola and dispersing COVID vaccines to keep such threats outside the U.S. Musk has said that both he and Trump “agreed” that the agency should be “shut down.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been named acting director of the independent agency, on Monday echoed the sentiment, telling reporters, “USAID is not functioning.” “It needs to be aligned with the national interest of the U.S. They’re not a global charity, these are taxpayer dollars. People are asking simple questions. What are they doing with the money?” Rubio continued. “We are spending taxpayers’ money. We owe the taxpayers assurances that it furthers our national interest.” MUSK’S DOGE TAKES AIM AT ‘VIPER’S NEST’ FEDERAL AGENCY WITH GLOBAL FOOTPRINT The scope of work overseen by USAID is vast and ranges from administering foreign aid through humanitarian efforts like famine relief, clean water distribution programs, and medical services, including administering polio vaccines, HIV/AIDS relief and prevention work. It also bolsters democracy, human rights and governance initiatives. The source said the stop work order has left medications for HIV and even vaccines meant for distribution in overseas regions sitting on shelves, saying, “It has all stopped.” Steve Schmida, who runs global consulting firm Resonance, which competes for contracts with USAID, told Fox News Digital that the shutdown is impacting contractors in the form of layoffs, furloughs and a reduction in hours. He also said the stop-work order has prevented his employees from getting paid for work they’ve already done. Schmida said DOGE is “controlling payments” by taking over the payment system. He accused the Musk-led agency of “intentionally defrauding us.” “If not stopped, it will spread to the rest of the government,” Schmida said, adding that the Trump administration’s DOGE could use its takeover of the payment system as “a weapon against American citizens, denying Social Security and Medicare if they step out of line.” Schmida said the foreign assistance community recognizes and shares the desire to reform the system, stating it “could work a lot better,” though he urged the government to work toward improvement rather than the destruction of an agency whose work has been built up over seven decades. Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
White House calls Democrat criticism of DOGE ‘unacceptable’ and ‘incredibly alarming’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed Democrats Wednesday for their criticism of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), calling it “unacceptable” and “incredibly alarming.” “Some elected Democrats are so steamed about DOGE – Congresswoman LaMonica McIver says we are at war. Ilhan Omar says we might actually see somebody get killed. And Chris Van Hollen says we have to fight this in the Congress, we have to fight this in the streets. So what now?” Leavitt was asked by Fox News’ senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy. “It’s unacceptable, the comments that have been made by these Democrat leaders, and frankly, they don’t even know what they’re talking about, because President Trump was elected with a mandate from the American people to make this government more efficient,” Leavitt responded. “He campaigned across this country with Elon Musk vowing that Elon was going to head up the Department of Government Efficiency and the two of them with a great team around them were going to look at the receipts of this federal government and ensure it’s accountable to American taxpayers. That’s all that is happening here,” Leavitt continued. “And for Democrat officials to incite violence and encourage Americans to take to the streets, is incredibly alarming, and they should be held accountable for that rhetoric.” DEMOCRAT LAWMAKERS FACE BACKLASH FOR INVOKING ‘UNHINGED’ VIOLENT RHETORIC AGAINST MUSK Leavitt also said during her daily White House press briefing, “If you heard that type of violent, enticing rhetoric from our side of the aisle, from Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, I think there would be a lot more outrage in this room today.” On Tuesday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said, “What we are witnessing here is the biggest heist in American history.” “This is the most corrupt bargain we’ve ever seen in American history: Elon Musk gives $250 million to elect Donald Trump, and Donald Trump turns over the keys to United States government to Elon Musk and his billionaire friends and his cronies,” Van Hollen said during a protest outside the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. “Are we going to let that stand? Hell no, we are not going to let that stand,” Van Hollen added, later vowing, “We have to fight this in the courts, we have to fight this in the Congress, we have to fight this in the streets. We need to fight this all over America.” USAID EMPLOYEE SAYS STAFFERS HID PRIDE FLAGS, ‘INCRIMINATING’ BOOKS WHEN DOGE ARRIVED “Shut down the city! We are at war!” Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., shouted into a microphone. On Monday morning, hundreds of employees for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) reported they were locked out of the agency’s computer system and that its headquarters in Washington, D.C., was closed on Monday. The agency’s fate is hanging in the balance as DOGE is working on an apparent overhaul of the agency. “The level of disrespect actually is criminal because there are crisis response teams that are around the world that really rely on having access to their emails – having access to apps that they can utilize if there’s danger to them,” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., told MSNBC, according to The Hill. “All of those accesses are cut off.” “So we might actually see somebody get killed. An American who works for the American government might be harmed in some of those countries that they’re operating in,” she reportedly added. Fox News’ Emma Colton and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Washington sends first group of Indian migrants with US military plane to home country
A U.S. military plane carrying a group of Indian migrants landed in India early Wednesday morning as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, a U.S. Transportation Command official confirmed to Fox News Digital. The outlet also reported that India is the farthest destination a military aircraft has ever flown to for deportations under Trump’s administration. According to the official, the C-17 aircraft flew from Miramar, near San Diego, yesterday and landed in Amritsar, in northern India, around 3:30 ET. The plane carried between 104 and 205 nationals and marked the first time Washington authorized a military aircraft for deportations to India, according to Reuters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, have been largely discussing immigration issues since Trump took office. The White House confirmed that Trump has invited Modi to come visit next week. INDIA’S MODI SPEAKS WITH ‘DEAR FRIEND’ PRESIDENT TRUMP AMID HOPES OF FURTHERING TIES According to the Pew Research center, there are about 725,000 Indians who have been illegally residing in the U.S. since 2022, marking India as the third top source of illegal U.S. immigration after Mexico and El Salvador. TRUMP SAYS HE’S NOT CHANGED HIS MIND ON H-1B VISAS AS DEBATE RAGES WITHIN MAGA COALITION Indian nationals often arrive in the U.S. through H-1B visas, a foreign worker visa that allows American employers to hire foreign workers. This legal pathway of entry has been hotly contested by some Trump supporters. The president, however, dismissed immigration concerns after having a “productive call” last month that focused on “expanding and deepening cooperation.” “We have a very good relationship with India,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One after his call with Modi. The president continued to express confidence that India will “do what is right.” Fox News’ Kyra Colah and Reuters contributed to this report.
Former Texas lawmaker Scott Turner confirmed to lead HUD
Turner served in the Texas House from 2013-2017.
Guatemala agrees to accept deportees from other countries, in deal with Rubio
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo confirmed that his country is willing to accept migrants of other nationalities being deported from the U.S. under President Donald Trump’s administration. Arevalo made the announcement during a visit from Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday. The new agreement declares Guatemala a “safe third country” for deportation, with the U.S. paying for migrants to be eventually returned to their home countries. “We have agreed to increase by 40% the number of flights of deportees both of our nationality as well as deportees from other nationalities,” Arevalo said, speaking during a news conference with Rubio. The agreement is similar to but less expansive than the one Rubio reached with El Slavador’s president, Nayib Bukele, on Tuesday. Bukele said his country would accept U.S. deportees of any nationality, including American citizens and legal residents who are imprisoned for violent crimes. RUBIO HEADS TO PANAMA, LATIN AMERICA TO PURSUE TRUMP’S ‘GOLDEN AGE’ AGENDA “We have offered the United States of America the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system,” Bukele wrote on X Monday night. “We are willing to take in only convicted criminals (including convicted U.S. citizens) into our mega-prison (CECOT) in exchange for a fee. The fee would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable.” TRUMP ANNOUNCES VENEZUELA WILL TAKE CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BACK Rubio said the Salvadoran president “has agreed to the most unprecedented, extraordinary, extraordinary migratory agreement anywhere in the world.” “We can send them, and he will put them in his jails,” Rubio told reporters, referring to illegal immigrants behind bars in U.S. prisons. “And, he’s also offered to do the same for dangerous criminals currently in custody and serving their sentences in the United States, even though they’re U.S. citizens or legal residents.” While Bukele did extend the offer to include violent American criminals, it is highly unlikely that part of the offer would actually happen, since it is illegal to deport U.S. citizens. A U.S. official said the Trump administration has no plans to deport American citizens, but noted that Bukele’s offer was significant. The proposal with El Salvador, known as a “safe third country” agreement, could potentially be an option for Venezuelan gang members convicted in the U.S. if Venezuela refuses to accept them, and Rubio said Bukele offered to accept detainees of any nationality. Bukele also said he would take back all Salvadoran MS-13 gang members in the U.S. illegally, and promised to accept and incarcerate criminal illegal aliens from any country, especially those affiliated with Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New York Democrat eyeing Stefanik’s seat ripped Border Patrol, corrections officers in resurfaced interview
The Democratic candidate who will run to replace outgoing Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik in upstate New York can be heard in a resurfaced interview condemning U.S. Border Patrol for apprehending illegal immigrants and disparaging off-duty corrections officers and local American laborers he hired to work on his dairy farm. Blake Gendebien, the owner and president of Twin Mill Farms in Lisbon, New York, since 2002, was tapped Tuesday to run in an eventual special election in New York’s 21st Congressional District. The U.S. House seat will be vacated by Stefanik, President Donald Trump’s nominee to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, but the powerful House Republican still awaits a Senate confirmation vote. With the special election timeline hanging in the balance, the 15 Democratic chairmen of NY-21 announced their unanimous support for Gendebien, championing him as “an authentic voice that will fight for sensible solutions.” The Democrats categorized Gendebien, who also serves as vice chairman of the Agri-Mark Dairy Cooperative covering New York and New England, as a husband, father, small business owner and former school board member who “will fight to lower costs and secure our borders.” Celebrating him as “an outsider to the political arena,” they said Gendebien “embodies the voice and grit that distinguishes this district.” NY DEMS WORKING TO KEEP STEFANIK’S HOUSE SEAT VACANT FOR MONTHS IN LATEST SCHEME AGAINST TRUMP: ASSEMBLYMAN Republican state leadership, however, quickly condemned Gendebien as a “far-left Democrat,” arguing that the candidate “not only supported Joe Biden’s open border policies, but also bailed out illegals from ICE.” New York GOP Chair Ed Cox referenced the dairy farmer’s past comments made in a more than hour-long interview with a local newspaper reporter on March 13, 2013. According to the recorded audio reviewed by Fox News Digital, Gendebien voiced frustrations about the labor market in upstate New York. Among his comments, he claimed local correction officers “don’t have much self-worth,” and described North County workers as not having “practical independence and ability to think,” in contrast to his foreign farm laborers. “Far Left Democrat Blake Gendebien even castigated hardworking North Country workers as ‘awful‘ people who ‘drank too much,’” Cox said in a statement. “This radical Far Left Democrat is a longtime major donor and groupie of leftist, gun-grabbing, Taxin’ Tedra Cobb, a supporter of Kathy Hochul, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and a public supporter of Biden’s inflation policies, which devastated NY21 families. Democrats didn’t do their homework when they selected Blake Gendebien and his catastrophic statements. Republicans will easily hold this seat in the upcoming special election, because the North Country is unquestionably Trump Country.” In the 2013 interview, Gendebien is heard explaining why he much preferred “Hispanic labor,” generalizing local residents as having drinking problems and being involved in child custody disputes. “If it weren’t for the Hispanic labor, I wouldn’t be doing this,” Gendebien said while describing the process for milking cows. “So there’s three Hispanic employees. They would need to be replaced by probably six local people. And it’s hard to find one person that does not have domestic abuse problems, alcohol problems, wage garnishments.” “So when you hire these local guys, all of a sudden you’re bombarded with social program stuff like what do you call it? I don’t even – I’m not in that world, so I don’t know,” he went on. “So the court will call you. Is Brian showing up to work? What is Brian making? He has a child with this girl. He has a child with this girl. He has a court date. He needs to appear on this day. So you’ve got all of these plans and these guys have to leave for court all the time because they’re in custody battles and, what’s it called, child support battles. And they want you to lie and tell that you don’t make this money. And it’s just awful. And they show up late. They show up. They drink too much. There is just no labor force out there.” Regarding other farm help, Gendebien said he hired a corrections officer. STEFANIK LOOKS BACK TO FIERY EXCHANGES WITH COLLEGE LEADERS IN SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARING: ‘WATERSHED MOMENT “You probably know that they don’t have much self-worth in their jobs as corrections officers, so they’ll work extra time and get maybe three, four weeks’ vacation. And in that vacation they will do things, plumbing or electrician work or something, just so that they feel some self-worth,” Gendebien told the reporter. “So we gave him all hunting rights. You can hunt all 800 acres and he does the work for basically materials. But he also gets some self-worth. He gets the hunting rights, and we get a guy that we trust to do a lot of work and a good deal. He did my house, he did the barn. He did a lot of things.” At one point, Gendebien complained that a Border Patrol agent took one of his workers, an illegal immigrant, into custody. “So Border Patrol is up and down this road,” Gendebien relayed to the reporter, according to the audio archived by the Library of Congress. “As far as I know, these guys are illegal. I have all their paperwork, and I’m not obligated to check. Not obligated to E-Verify. So I get the same paperwork from them as I get from anyone else. And we move along. But Border Patrol will profile by skin color, crossing the road and they’ll stop. And then they will interrogate and scream at the person.” After Border Patrol confronted one farmworker and took him into custody, Gendebien said he called up the high school’s soccer coach, a 30-year Border Patrol agent, who told him that new Border Patrol agents sent to upstate New York from places like Arizona want to make more apprehensions, causing some friction within leadership at their command. Gendebien said the man told him, “I don’t pick up farmworkers, but we get young men and women from Arizona that are gung-ho, and
USAID has ‘demonstrated pattern of obstructionism,’ claims top DOGE Republican in letter to Rubio
FIRST ON FOX: The Senate chair of the DOGE Caucus is exposing a “demonstrated pattern of obstructionism” at the U.S.’ top aid agency in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, outlined how the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been “stonewalling” her office for years as she sought documents to ensure taxpayer dollars weren’t wasted at the agency, which is now under the microscope of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). “USAID’s spending shows a blatant disregard for the wishes of American taxpayers, and it is time to disrupt the system,” Ernst told Fox News Digital. “The agency has been wasting millions of tax dollars on things like tourism in Lebanon, Sesame Street in Iraq, sending Ukrainians to Paris Fashion Week and so much more.” In one instance, the Iowa Republican claims USAID misled her staff to believe that details about funds going to businesses in Ukraine were classified, funds that in some instances were used for travel to fashion shows and film festivals. ‘VIPER’S NEST’: USAID ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION, MISMANAGEMENT LONG BEFORE TRUMP ADMIN TOOK AIM In 2024, after months of delays, USAID finally agreed to offer Ernst’s staff a review of recipients of taxpayer-funded assistance to businesses in Ukraine, according to the letter. But the agency insisted the documents be reviewed in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF), suggesting the records would be classified. “These requirements were all presented to my staff under the false pretense that this data was classified,” Ernst wrote to Rubio. “Only after demanding to speak to your USAID Office of Security, my staff uncovered that this data was, in fact, unclassified.” Ernst said that based on her staff’s review, it appears that over 5,000 Ukrainian businesses received U.S. taxpayer-funded assistance, with awards of up to $2 million each. WHAT IS USAID AND WHY IS IT IN TRUMP’S CROSSHAIRS? That trade assistance was in some instances used to bankroll business owners attending glamorous film festivals and fashion shows in cities like Berlin, Paris and Las Vegas. She also accused the agency of “misleading” her office on the costs of indirect aid. Negotiated indirect cost agreements (NICRA) allowed contractors to use more than 25 percent of the total award on costs like “rent for a partner’s corporate headquarters, advocacy costs, and other miscellaneous expenses.” Ernst said her staff reached out in November 2022 asking USAID for information on NICRAs with grant recipients. The agency responded, “USAID does not have a system to track or report on this data, as it is not possible to compare indirect costs between for-profit and nonprofit organizations,” according to Ernst. In February 2023, Ernst followed up with a link to a publicly reported NICRA database that USAID confirmed does exist. The agency then said that it “protects the confidential business information of its implementing partners, including NICRAs… outside the scope of a formal oversight request by a committee of jurisdiction.” Then, Ernst partnered with former House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul to give USAID the request from a “committee of jurisdiction.” “Even then, USAID refused to permit my staff to acquire the documents or take substantive notes on the NICRA rates. The lack of transparency was alarming because the NICRA rates far exceeded staff’s expected range of indirect costs allowed.” USAID CLOSES HQ TO STAFFERS MONDAY AS MUSK SAYS TRUMP SUPPORTS SHUTTING AGENCY DOWN Ernst said: “In the wake of this series of significant misjudgments and oversight obstruction by USAID, it is of the utmost importance to conduct a full and independent analysis of the recipients of USAID assistance.” She also pointed to Chemonics, a government contractor that USAID’s inspector general found over-billed the U.S. government by $270 million through fiscal year 2019. Chemonics led a $9.5 billion USAID project to improve global health supply chains that, “led to 41 arrests and 31 indictments related to illicit resale of USAID funded commodities on the black market, and fueled ongoing allegations that Chemonics falsely portrays its projects’ outcomes to secure future contracts with USAID,” Ernst wrote. “No more stonewalling,” said Ernst. “We need to scrutinize every last dollar being spent by this rogue agency.” In a notice posted on its website Tuesday night, USAID announced that all direct hire staff would be placed on leave globally, except for designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs. The Trump administration is now exploring merging the agency with the State Department and Rubio has been appointed its acting director. Rubio told reporters in El Salvador the “functions of USAID” must align with foreign policy and called it a “a completely unresponsive agency.” Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, staged a protest outside the USAID headquarters on Tuesday, arguing that the agency is essential for flexing U.S. soft power throughout the world, preventing and monitoring disease outbreaks, and safeguarding U.S. national security. “USAID is the backbone of America’s soft power, helping to stabilize fragile regions and protect U.S. interests abroad,” said Reps. Greg Meeks, top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sara Jacobs,Calif., top Democrat on the Africa subcommittee. “Weakening it will fuel global crises, endanger American security, embolden other nations like China and Russia, and leave the Trump Administration solely responsible for the fallout.”