The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) purports to be "the principal U.S. agency to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms."

However, revelations about bizarre and wasteful spending by the organization has President Donald Trump talking about shutting it down.

$1.5 million to promote "opportunity for LGBTQI+ people in Serbia"

According to the Daily Mail, controversial spending choices by USAID have recently been brought to light via a review from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is headed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Among the recipients of USAID funds was the Serbian LGBTQI+ organization "Grupa Izadji," which translates into English as "Group Come Out."

The entity was paid $1.5 million under President Joe Biden to "advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia's workplaces and business communities, by promoting economic empowerment of and opportunity for LGBTQI+ people in Serbia."

Grupa Izadji's efforts aim to "foster an environment that increases employment potential for LGBTQI+ persons" as well as increase "opportunities for LGBTQI+ entrepreneurs, and reduces workplace discrimination."

Half a million dollars spent on promoting atheism in Nepal

Meanwhile, another half a million dollars was allocated towards the promotion of atheism in Nepal, a move which was met with condemnation from Vice President J.D. Vance.

"In recent years, too often has our nation's international engagement on religious liberty issues been corrupted and distorted to the point of absurdity," Fox News quoted Vance as saying on Wednesday.

‘Spreading atheism’: Vance warns religious efforts abroad ‘corrupted’ by US bureaucracy amid USAID controversy https://t.co/F5uv3w96Xi

— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 6, 2025

"Think about it: How did America get to a point where we're sending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars abroad to NGOs that are dedicated to spreading atheism all over the globe?" he asked.

"That is not what leadership on protecting the rights of the faithful looks like," the vice president went on to declare.

$38 million given to Chinese lab which is believed to have created COVID

Another controversial expenditure was $38 million worth of grants which were directed towards the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Fox News reported late last year that a report from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic concluded that "COVID-19 most likely emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China."

"By nearly all measures of science, if there was evidence of a natural origin it would have already surfaced," the subcommittee's 520-page report pointed out.