‘This is Permanent Washington’s Nightmare, The Tip of the Iceberg’ [WATCH]

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) voiced strong support Thursday for the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), calling it just the beginning of major cuts to bloated government agencies.

During an appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” Schmitt said that Washington’s entrenched bureaucracy is in panic mode over the proposed cuts, which could see USAID’s workforce reduced to fewer than 300 employees from its current 10,000-strong global staff.

The future of USAID came into question Monday when Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, revealed in an X Space discussion that he had spoken with President Donald Trump about potentially shuttering the foreign aid agency.

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With USAID’s operations now being transferred under the oversight of the State Department, reports of billions in taxpayer-funded waste have surfaced, drawing Republican calls for further spending cuts to other agencies accused of misusing tax dollars.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham pressed Schmitt on the issue, citing a Reuters report suggesting that the Trump administration plans to significantly downsize USAID’s workforce as part of a broader push to eliminate government waste.

“It’s incredible. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. I mean, we’re just talking about USAID right now,” Schmitt said.

“Wait till they get to the other agencies that have been bloated and unaccountable. This is permanent Washington’s worst nightmare, which is why you see this hair-on-fire moment right now, because they’ve been able to hide behind this sort of secrecy for far too long.”

Schmitt argued that USAID has wasted taxpayer money on projects that many Americans would find outrageous, listing several examples of its recent funding initiatives.

“I have a partial list. I just want to read a couple more things,” Schmitt said.

“You mentioned the Girls Senate Climate Action in Brazil, $45 million for DEI scholarships in Burma, $1.5 billion for DEI in Serbia, $47,000 for a trans opera in Colombia, $32,000 for a trans comic book in Peru, $2 million for sex changes in Guatemala.”

He emphasized that these expenditures are just the beginning of the wasteful spending being exposed, arguing that taxpayers would be outraged if they knew where their money was going.

“They know that if the American taxpayer knew what this money was being spent on, they would object. You’d have sort of a new Tea Party moment in this country, and it’s all coming to light, which is a good thing,” Schmitt said. “We want this fight, Laura.”

Following the Trump administration’s announcement of USAID’s restructuring, Democratic lawmakers pushed back, claiming that placing the agency under State Department control is illegal.

Democrats have also openly opposed Musk’s involvement in government reform, accusing him of working with Trump to reshape federal agencies in ways that undermine their authority.

On Tuesday, Democratic protesters gathered outside the Department of Treasury building, accusing Musk of staging a “hostile takeover” of federal financial systems and calling on supporters to fight back against the proposed changes.

Schmitt dismissed the backlash, saying that Democrats have become the defenders of Washington’s entrenched bureaucracy.

“The Democrats are essentially the guardians of permanent Washington right now, and we should welcome this fight,” he said.

As the Trump administration continues to restructure federal agencies, including USAID, the battle over government spending, oversight, and accountability is expected to intensify in the coming months.

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