Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., told Newsmax on Tuesday that the Trump administration's sweeping freeze on all federal financial assistance provides an avenue and time for thorough scrutiny to ensure that American tax dollars are "going to the right places."
Meuser joined "National Report" to discuss Monday's directive from the Office of Management and Budget to suspend all federal aid earmarked for everything except for Social Security and Medicare. In its memo, the OMB said that more than $3 trillion in fiscal year 2024 was "federal financial assistance, such as grants and loans."
Compounding the problem of the immense cost, Meuser said, is the fact that no one knows where all the monies are going.
"Well, look: We are going to question; we're going to review; and yes, we're going to be disrupters, but we're going to be constructive disruptors. There are no threats or cause for alarm regarding Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid — what's important to Americans," Meuser said.
"But when you've got $2 billion going to the Taliban and Afghanistan, and you have all kinds of other foreign aid taking place, and $40 billion in USAID, which frankly, most of us — I was even on foreign affairs — don't know where much of that money is going, where they're trying to infiltrate African nations with DEI … the administration is going to be thoroughly reviewing, thoroughly questioning and assuring the American people, to the best of our ability, that their tax dollars are going to be going to the right places," Meuser added. "So that's going to take place. And we say we're going to cut $1 trillion, a trillion-five, $2 trillion, things like this are just one of many steps."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE – See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.