Ilhan Omar Can’t Understand Why Americans Don’t Want Their Taxpayer Dollars Wasted [WATCH]

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota voiced strong opposition Tuesday to the decision by President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency Chair Elon Musk to restructure the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by merging its functions into the State Department.

Speaking on CNN News Central, Omar criticized the move, which has resulted in immediate changes to the agency’s operations.

When host Brianna Keilar asked what she would say to Americans who support the decision, Omar expressed her confusion.

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“Well, I don’t understand why they would agree with it philosophically. We are looking at this reckless decision that was made that took away the jobs of so many Americans who are working here in the United States and abroad,” Omar said.

Omar claimed that USAID personnel were abruptly cut off from their work.

“These were people who were locked out of their offices, locked out of their emails. We have crisis response teams that are abroad, that are locked out of the resources that they need in case their lives were in danger. So what Elon Musk is doing is actually risking the lives of Americans by making this decision,” she said.

The congresswoman also pushed back against criticism of USAID’s spending, arguing that its budget is relatively small.

“I think what is really important for the American people to understand is that this money really amounts to less than 1% of what our budget is as a country. It is money that goes to the most vulnerable around the world. It is already appropriated and it can’t be re-appropriated,” Omar stated.

She then accused Musk of interfering in government affairs without proper authority.

“And so what we are seeing right now is Elon Musk, a billionaire who is attempting to take away resources from the poorest people around the world. This is someone who is not a government official. He wasn’t elected. He’s not appointed. He holds foreign debt and foreign interests. And so we should all look at this with cautious eyes and with curiosity to understand why he is making these decisions and why he’s being allowed to make these decisions,” Omar said.

USAID has been responsible for funding foreign initiatives, including Palestinian programs, Afghan aid programs that critics warn could be exploited by the Taliban, and organizations linked to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

According to USAID and State Department data, the U.S. spent $68 billion on foreign aid in 2023, with over $17 billion allocated to Ukraine.

In the wake of the restructuring, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was appointed as USAID’s acting administrator on Monday.

“We’re spending taxpayer money here,” Rubio told reporters during a diplomatic visit to El Salvador.

“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.”

USAID to be merged with State Department. “These aren’t donor dollars, but taxpayer dollars. We owe the American people assurances that every dollar abroad is being spent on something that furthers our national interests.” pic.twitter.com/OGSfUIjLKq

— ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) February 3, 2025

The decision to integrate USAID into the State Department is expected to shift oversight of foreign aid spending while reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies.

However, the move has sparked significant backlash from lawmakers like Omar, who argue that the change could disrupt global humanitarian efforts.

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