The new chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee has questioned why the Biden administration is attempting to send millions of dollars of taxpayer money into international programs irrelevant to national security, including LGBT initiatives in Zimbabwe.
"In recent weeks, my office has been made aware of hundreds of millions of dollars of proposed obligations for initiatives that offer no clear national security benefit to the U.S. or its allies," Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., wrote in a letter Wednesday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Mast succeeded Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, as the committee's chair in the new Congress. McCaul oversaw the committee's investigation into the Biden administration's disastrous withdraw from Afghanistan in August 2021.
"The American people sent a clear message in November that they will no longer tolerate uncontrolled spending on programs that are incompatible with the United States' interests abroad," Mast wrote. "As their representative, I cannot, in good faith, allow you to spend millions of dollars to combat climate change in the war-torn Middle East or fund LGBTQI awareness in Zimbabwe — both of which are among your recent proposals.
"The rush to fund these and other controversial programs on the eve of a new administration contradicts President [Joe] Biden's pledge to conduct a smooth transition and undermines critical Congressional oversight of taxpayer dollars spent abroad. As such, I am invoking the longstanding precedent granted to authorizing and appropriating committees to place a hold on these funds before they are obligated."
A State Department spokesperson told National Review, "The policies and current spending of the administration align with bipartisan foreign policy and national security goals that span many administrations — such as advancing democracy and human rights, protecting and ensuring access to natural resources, and increasing access to education and innovation."
The spokesperson added, "The State Department will continue to work with Congress on spending priorities for appropriated funds, as required by law, to advance the nation’s foreign policy objectives."
Mast, a decorated U.S. Army veteran who also chairs the Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability, last month released a report detailing how the State Department used taxpayer dollars to spread left-leaning ideology worldwide.
The report said approximately $500,000 went to a Great Britain humanist group to teach humanist groups in Nepal how to proselytize and to expand atheist networks in the region.
It also said money targeted youth with sexualized programming, including a $20,600 grant to fund drag shows in Ecuador; cash and voucher assistance to migrants in northern Mexico to make their journey across the southern border easier, and help navigating the U.S. asylum system.