Lummis Slams USAID Funding For ‘Sesame Street’ Show In Iraq

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., condemned reckless spending from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has been recently targeted by the Trump administration’s efforts to clear government waste.

On the Senate floor Thursday, Lummis outlined a series of items given funding from USAID as “some of the ways the last administration has wasted your money.”

First, Lummis hit the more than $4.5 million to “combat disinformation” in Kazakhstan. “And just whose disinformation is it? I think that’s probably in the eye of the beholder,” she said.

The Wyoming lawmaker also admonished the agency for delivering $20 million for a “Sesame Street” show in Iraq, $25 million to promote “green transportation” in Georgia, $8 million to teach Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid “binary gendered language,” $1.5 million to rebuild the Cuban media, and $1.5 million for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in Serbia.

“During the Biden administration, Americans were working harder than ever and yet were taking home less and less,” Lummis told The Federalist. “The fact that their government was simultaneously wasting millions on far-left, ridiculous programs should rightfully be a major outrage to all hardworking taxpayers.”

USAID had also delivered grants for a DEI musical in Ireland, electric vehicles in Vietnam, and a transgender comic book in Peru. The agency complemented the grants for social engineering overseas by funding legacy media and global censorship programs. Corporate outlets which received American taxpayer dollars through USAID include the Associated Press, Politico, Reuters, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN. The AP and Politico received more than $30 million from the agency.

Last weekend, President Donald Trump said USAID was “run by a bunch of radical lunatics.” NBC reported Thursday the new administration plans to terminate thousands of USAID employees and reduce the agency down to less than 300 staff. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on a trip to Latin America this week he is now the acting director.

Democrats protested plans to reform the agency this week with threats to place blanket holds on additional nominees for confirmation.

“An unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government,” said Democrat Senate leader Chuck Schumer of New York. “DOGE is not a real government agency. DOGE has no authority to make spending decisions.”

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who is leading the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) responded to the Democrat Senate chief on X.

“This is the one shot the American people have to defeat BUREAUcracy, rule of the bureaucrats, and restore DEMOcracy, role of the people,” Musk wrote. “We’re never going to get another chance like this.”

Tristan Justice is a national correspondent for The Federalist and the co-author of “Fat and Unhappy: How ‘Body Positivity’ Is Killing Us (and How to Save Yourself).” He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at [email protected]. Sign up for Tristan’s email newsletter here. Buy “Fat and Unhappy” here.