Joni Ernst Drops Devastating USAID Thread, and You Won't Believe Where Your Money Has Been Going

While the freak-out over President Donald Trump's knee-capping of USAID continues, more and more information is coming out showing just how much waste, fraud, and abuse was happening within the agency.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt battled the press on Monday, listing off several grants she described as "insane." That includes over a million dollars to push DEI in Serbia and tens of thousands of dollars for a transgender opera in Colombia. As it turns out, those examples were just the tip of the iceberg. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) put out a thread on Tuesday and you won't believe what your money has been going to.

On second thought, you might believe it given our government's track record, but it's still jarring. Take a walk with me because things are about to get crazy.

USAID spends money like it’s going out of fashion, literally.

Trade assistance to Ukraine paid for models and designers to take trips to New York City, London Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, and South by Southwest in Austin.
— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) February 3, 2025

Why is the United States federal government promoting pottery classes in Morocco? How does that elevate America's standing in the world through "soft power?" Who is being influenced and what interest is being served? And to be clear, those and the proceeding questions I'll ask throughout this article are somewhat rhetorical, a point I'll address after we get through the thread.

Continuing, Ukraine is currently in a war for state survival with Russia. On what planet is it a good use of USAID funds to pay for designers and models to attend Paris Fashion Week?

If you think that is bad, it gets much worse.

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.
— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) February 3, 2025

Lebanon's government has been subservient to Hezbollah, which is subservient to Iran. Yet, Americans were paying to promote "tourism" to the country, even as Israel (who we also send aid to) was under attack from Lebanon. That's nothing compared to the money that went to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, though.

As RedState reported, the CIA recently admitted that the lab leak theory is the most likely origin of COVID-19. USAID was funding coronavirus research at the lab in Wuhan. I'm not a genius, but I'm capable of connecting those dots.

USAID asked, “Can you tell me how to get how to get to Sesame Street?” and ended up in Iraq.

USAID authorized a whopping $20 million to create a Sesame Street in Iraq.
— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) February 3, 2025

USAID paying $20 million to create a "Sesame Street" in Iraq perfectly illustrates how ridiculous all these grants are. Did doing so buy us any goodwill with the Iraqis? Clearly, it didn't given they continue to allow attacks on our soldiers and the legislature there recently lowered the age of consent to nine years old. We keep hearing about how USAID is vitally important to bolstering America's standing in the world. How was that standing improved with this grant?

Then there are the grants that might have been defensible, as in they were actually for "aid," but ended up just highlighting how much waste and fraud is involved.

More than $9 million of USAID’s “humanitarian aid” intended to feed civilians in Syria ended up in the hands of violent terrorists, including an affiliate of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) February 3, 2025

It has to be reiterated that even as the list of examples expands, they are still just a drop in the bucket. Thousands of questionable grants have been handed out over the years, with left-wing ideologues obviously using USAID as a slush fund to promote their radical social priorities.

Now, let's return to why I said my questions throughout the article were somewhat rhetorical. If you're a critical thinker, you're probably asking why some of these grants were handed out. What do Moroccan pottery classes have to do with American foreign policy? Why do we care about tourism in Lebanon? In what way does a transgender comic book in Peru help the United States' ability to project power?

Those are the questions that need to be asked because it sure seems like some of these grants were not what they claimed to be. I'm speculating here, but would it shock anyone if USAID was funneling money for less than above-board activities through some of these nonsensical expenditures? Hopefully, the Trump administration will dig deeper into this because I'd bet the corruption runs deep.