‘Incredible Delay And Arrogance’: USAID Whistleblower Believes ‘Tremendous Waste’ Runs Rampant Throughout Federal Govt

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) whistleblower Rob Cohen said Friday evening on Fox News that he believes “tremendous waste” runs throughout the federal government and beyond USAID.

Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE’s) Elon Musk announced Monday during an X discussion space that he and President Donald Trump had agreed to upend USAID, pushing the remainder of the agency under the leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Since the announcement, reports have surfaced of billions in taxpayer dollars being wasted on international programs by the government agency, some of which had a high risk of landing in the Taliban’s hands and also aiding an organization linked to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Appearing on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Fox host Jesse Watters pressed the whistleblower, who had worked at the agency since 2016, on how the “system” worked during his time there, asking if “people running the subcontractors” were receiving ample amounts of funds.

“Well, I have to say this — I want to be careful that this is a classic case where we want to avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater. USAID does save babies. That said, it does. Studies show that up to seven million children have been prevented from being born with HIV by giving drugs to HIV positive mothers while they’re giving childbirth. That’s a wonderful thing,” Cohen said.

“That said, there is tremendous waste within the aid industrial complex. This is well known. It’s been well documented,” Cohen added. “It’s probably not unique to USAID. It’s probably true across the federal government, in which most contractors charge overhead that is beyond what any reasonable business would consider appropriate. Therefore, the American taxpayer does not get the return on investment that we expect.”