USAID Hearing Protesters Rage Against Trump Cutting Funding For Health Program — But There’s A Problem

Protesters at a Thursday hearing about the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) called on President Donald Trump’s administration to reinstate funding for an AIDS initiative that has already had its funding restored.

The protesters at the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing particularly focused on restoring funding for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). While Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to temporarily pause foreign aid, his administration issued a limited waiver on the order on Jan. 28 that enables PEPFAR to perform “Life-saving HIV care and treatment services,” according to the U.S. Embassy & Consulates in South Africa.

WATCH:

The protesters interrupted former USAID acting Chief Operating Officer Max Primorac as he began his testimony, chanting, “PEPFAR saves lives. Restore AIDS funding now.”

Once the protesters were removed from the hearing, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast said, “I guess these guys don’t watch the news. They didn’t realize that PEPFAR was one of the many programs that did prove to be lifesaving so the funding was restored.”

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Chair Elon Musk has sought to dismantle USAID due to how the agency has spent Americans’ tax dollars.

For instance, it sent 65.5 million condoms, 9.8 million injectable birth control products and 334,000 IUDs to other nations in fiscal year 2022 to facilitate family planning, particularly in the third world. It also sent a $2 million grant to Guatemala to fund “gender-affirming care” and LGBTQ activism.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was appointed as USAID’s new acting administrator on Feb. 3.

“We’re spending taxpayer money here,” he said. “These are not donor dollars; these are taxpayer dollars, and we owe the American people the assurance that every dollar we are spending abroad is being spent on something that furthers our national interest. And so far a lot of people who work at USAID have simply refused to cooperate.”