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Published : 16 Feb 2025, 06:06 PM
The United States Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has tweeted on X that $29 million from American taxpayers’ money was going to be spent on “strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh” but it has now been scrapped.
In the tweet on Sunday, the department, headed by Elon Musk, revealed the entry on Bangladesh as part of a longer list of items on which “US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent”.
The DOGE move raises questions about foreign interference in the political process and how United States Agency For International Development, or USAID, funds are allocated, especially in the context of political activities in foreign countries, CNBC reported.
The interim government of Bangladesh was yet to officially address the tweet.
It also mentioned that $21 million from US taxpayer dollars was going to be spent on voter turnout in India. It was also cancelled.
The list included $486 million allocated to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening,” including $22 million for "inclusive and participatory political process" in Moldova and $21 million for voter turnout in India.
The DOGE also cancelled different other political initiatives for other foreign nations including $20 million for "fiscal federalism" in Nepal, and $1.5 million for "voter confidence" in Liberia, among others.
US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all which have been cancelled:
- $10M for "Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision"
- $9.7M for UC Berkeley to develop "a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise driven skills"
- $2.3M for "strengthening…
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) February 15, 2025
In a reaction to the tweet, Indian economist Sanjeev Sanyal took to X and posted, "Would love to find out who received the $21 million spent to improve 'voter turnout in India' and the$29 million to 'strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh'; not to mention the $29 million spend to improve 'fiscal federalism' in Nepal. USAID is the biggest scam in human history."
Sanyal pointed out in a separate X post that IFES was linked to George Soros’s Open Society Foundation and was primarily funded by USAID and the US State Department. Malviya criticised the Congress-led UPA government for allowing foreign involvement in India's election processes, reported CNBC.
At office in his second term, US President Donald Trump took initiatives to cut USAID’s budget and workforce. He said that the agency had become bloated and inefficient, it read.
The administration proposed deep funding cuts for foreign aid programmes, leading to hiring freezes and staff reductions at USAID. Many positions remained unfilled, and contract workers saw renewals delayed or cancelled, the report added.
Established by the Trump administration in his second term, DOGE was pushing for initiatives aimed at streamlining government operations and reducing costs, CNBC reported.
