María Elvira Salazar U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 27th district | Official U.S. House Headshot
María Elvira Salazar U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 27th district | Official U.S. House Headshot
Today, Chairwoman María Elvira Salazar of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee criticized the spending practices of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Biden-Harris Administration. Her remarks were made during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.
Chairwoman Salazar expressed concern over programs in Ecuador, Guatemala, and Peru funded by USAID. She urged the agency to refocus on its primary role in promoting democracy in the Western Hemisphere. "I am very distraught because some of the programs discussed here come from a region where many of my constituents in South Florida are from," she stated.
Salazar highlighted three specific programs as examples of what she considers wasteful spending aimed at Marxist political goals. These included a $25,000 initiative for Venezuelans in Ecuador to become drag queens, a $2 million program providing sex-change operations for Guatemala's native population, and a $23,000 diversity recruitment event in Peru's Iquitos region.
She argued that instead of funding such initiatives, vulnerable populations need resources to address their basic needs. "The Trump Administration has discovered spending at USAID that is completely and absolutely embarrassing," Salazar remarked.
For more details on Chairwoman Salazar’s questioning during the committee hearing, further information can be accessed through available resources.
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