Democratic Lawmakers Oppose Cuts to USAID Funding Amid Controversy

WASHINGTON -- Democratic lawmakers said they do not support cutting funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) when confronted by Fox News Digital about controversial spending, such as money ending up in the hands of terrorist-linked groups.

The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, recently started cutting funding from USAID as they slash costs across the federal government. During their sweep, it was revealed that U.S. dollars were ending up in the hands of terror-linked groups, such as funds reportedly providing "full funding" for al Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki to attend college in Colorado, unearthed documents apparently show.

Fox News Digital asked Democratic lawmakers their thoughts about the controversial USAID funding, specifically the funding going to some terrorist-linked groups.

"USAID funding is authorized spending. Republicans and Democrats have agreed to those levels. We should honor those deals," Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., told Fox.

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Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said that while USAID funds "should never go to terrorist organizations," he added that "Elon Musk has a real credibility gap" and that "almost all the claims as it relates to efficiency have been proven false."

According to an analysis by the Middle East Forum, a U.S. conservative think tank, the USAID and State Department have funneled at least $122 million to groups aligned with designated terrorists and their supporters.

The think tank reported that among its top findings, USAID was found to have given more than $900,000 to a "Gaza-based terror charity" called Bayader Association for Environment and Development.

A White House report also identified millions of taxpayer dollars being spent on contraceptives and condoms that ended up in the hands of the Taliban, a terrorist group.

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"There's no one in Congress who hates waste more than me," Swalwell added. "And there's nobody in Congress who wants to defeat the terrorists around the world more than me. So I will always be open-minded."

"USAID funding right now is being raided by Elon Musk, and I think we have to do a much better job of ensuring that funding isn't cut," said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. "Cutting any funding is horrific, and, of course, nobody wants to fund terrorism."

Progressive Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, a member of "the Squad" of progressive lawmakers, said it is "perfectly reasonable" to look at specific USAID funding but that he opposes gutting the entire department.

"When people ask about specific programs and parts of USAID or other federal programs, we should look into those. We can have oversight. We can look, we can go and edit the budget and say we don't want to spend on this, because this didn't work and we do want to spend on that."

"The problem that we have right now happening in this country isn't just about USAID. It's not just about the Department of Education. It's that you have Elon Musk, a billionaire who makes billions of dollars off of the federal government, going and shutting down programs without a vote, without any transparency," Casar said.

Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey did not fully answer the question and walked away.

Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report.