“$70,000 for production of a ‘DEI musical’ in Ireland” has been cited by The White House as an example of the US Agency for International Development's (USAID's) “waste and abuse."
“For decades, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been unaccountable to taxpayers as it funnels massive sums of money to the ridiculous — and, in many cases, malicious — pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats, with next-to-no oversight,” the White House said in a statement yesterday, Monday, February 3.
“Under President Trump, the waste, fraud, and abuse ENDS NOW," the statement adds.
The White House statement on February 3 links to a January 31 article published on DailyMail.com.
“America would have been better off if Biden and Blinken had lit your money on fire, instead of spending it on DEI musicals in Ireland or creating jobs for LGBTQ Serbians in Serbia,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-Fla.) told DailyMail.com in a statement.
According to USASpending.gov, the $70,884.00 grant for the so-called "DEI musical in Ireland" was awarded in September 2022 to Ceiliuradh Company Limited By Guarantee, which has an address in Ventry, Co Kerry.
The awarding agency was the US Department of State, and the awarding office was the US Embassy in Dublin.
The grant was awarded through the US government’s Public Diplomacy Programs, which aims to “support the achievement of US foreign policy goals and objectives, advance national interests, and enhance national security by informing and influencing foreign publics and by expanding and strengthening the relationship between the people and government of the United States and citizens of the rest of the world.”
$50,000 of the grant came from the State Diplomatic and Consular Programs Fund, while the other $20,884 was from the State’s Unconditional Gift Fund.
The grant's description, according to USASpending.gov, says: "Deliver a live musical event to promote the US and Irish shared values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.”
The White House's criticism of USAID funding falls in line with Trump’s Executive Order aimed at ending DEI - diversity, equity, and inclusion - initiatives.
It also falls in line with Trump's Executive Order that "no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States," prompting a 90-day pause of foreign aid funding.
On Saturday, USAID's website went offline "without explanation," according to the Associated Press, "as thousands of furloughs, layoffs, and program shutdowns continued in President Donald Trump’s freeze on US-funded foreign aid and development worldwide."
A current and a former US official told the AP on Sunday that the administration placed two top security chiefs at USAID on leave after they refused to turn over classified material in restricted areas to Elon Musk’s government inspection teams.
Members of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) eventually did gain access on Saturday to USAID's classified information, which includes intelligence reports, the former official told the AP.
On Saturday, Musk said on X that USAID was "a viper’s nest of radical-left marxists who hate America," "evil," and "a criminal organization."
"It is time for it to die," he said.
On Monday, he posted: "We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could gone to some great parties. Did that instead."
He later posted: "USAID is/was a radical-left political psy op."
Elon Musk in 2020. (Getty Images)
Also on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked what expertise Musk has in the areas of global health or humanitarian aid to be able to assess what's happening at USAID.
Responding, Leavitt said Musk is a "once-in-a-generation business leader," an "entrepreneur," and a "great ally and friend to the President."
Musk, Leavitt added, "has a little bit of common sense."
Leavitt went on to cite the "DEI musical in Ireland" as one of the reasons Musk is "taking a look" at USAID, calling it one of the agency's "insane priorities."
She continued: “I don’t know about you, but as an American taxpayer, I don’t want my dollars going towards this crap and I know the American people don’t either and that’s exactly what Elon Musk has been tasked by President Trump to do, to get the fraud, waste, and abuse out of our federal government.”
Leavitt earlier told reporters that Musk is a “special government employee” and said he has “abided by all applicable federal laws.” She said she was “not sure” about his security clearance and was also not sure about the security clearance of anyone from Musk’s team who was at USAID over the weekend. She later said she did not know if Musk took the same oath to adhere to the US Constitution that she and other senior advisors took.
REPORTER: What expertise does Elon Musk have in the areas of global health or humanitarian aid to assess what's happening at USAID?
LEAVITT: He's a once in a generation business leader. And I think Elon Musk has a little bit of common sense. pic.twitter.com/qtWQ0FuzeR
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 3, 2025
What is the US Agency for International Development (USAID)?
According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is the "lead international humanitarian and development arm of the US government."
It was established in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy to implement the Foreign Assistance Act.
By statute, USAID is both an “independent establishment” and under “the direct authority and policy guidance of the Secretary of State." The CRS notes: "Each Administration has adopted its own approach to this status."
Dublin-born Samantha Power, who served as USAID Administrator during the Biden administration, "repeatedly cited diversity, equity, inclusion, and
accessibility (DEIA) as agency priorities," CRS noted.
In Fiscal Year 2023, USAID managed more than $40 billion in combined appropriations, representing more than one-third of the funds provided in the FY2023 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs appropriation and international food aid provided in the Agriculture appropriation.
CRS notes that "Frequently, there is a significant disparity between what the Administration requests for USAID and what Congress appropriates."
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