During a recent House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., expressed concerns about the use of USAID funding and potential criminal referrals. Greene highlighted the case of Hunter Biden's involvement with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma while his father, Joe Biden, was vice president. She questioned whether USAID should be used as leverage to protect a president's family member.
Former USAID official Max Primorac emphasized that such actions would constitute corruption. He also revealed that over 50% of USAID funding was being allocated to overhead charges, raising significant concerns about financial transparency within the agency.
Another witness, Gregg Roman, Executive Director of the Middle East Forum, raised alarms about taxpayer dollars being funneled to radical and terrorist-linked organizations through the foreign aid system. Roman urged the committee to make criminal referrals to the Department of Justice to address these systemic failures.
Greene criticized the alleged political bias within USAID, pointing out that a majority of political contributions from agency employees go to Democratic Party candidates or PACs. She suggested investigating whether USAID funding had been redirected to support Democratic campaigns.
In her closing remarks, Greene reiterated the possibility of making criminal referrals related to USAID funding, particularly if it was found to have supported terrorism resulting in harm to Americans. Committee Democrats, on the other hand, argued that the Trump administration's actions regarding USAID were illegal and detrimental to global democracy.
The hearing underscored bipartisan concerns about the transparency, accountability, and potential misuse of USAID funding, signaling a need for further investigation and oversight to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used effectively and ethically.
