President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that requires his political appointees to review federal grants to prevent what the administration describes as "offensive waste of tax dollars."
According to The Daily Caller, the executive order directs agency heads to assign Trump appointees to conduct annual reviews of federal grants to ensure they "demonstrably advance the President's policy priorities."
The White House has identified several left-wing initiatives that agencies are explicitly prohibited from funding, including race-preferential programs and services that facilitate illegal immigration.
The executive order specifically cites examples of what the administration considers wasteful spending, including federal grants that have "funded drag shows in Ecuador, trained doctoral candidates in critical race theory, and developed transgender-sexual-education programs."
Trump's directive references data indicating that by 2024, the National Science Foundation was allocating approximately one-quarter of its funding to what the White House characterizes as "diversity, equity, and inclusion and other far-left initiatives."
The order explicitly prohibits funding for programs that deny "the sex binary in humans or the notion that sex is a chosen or mutable characteristic," as well as any initiatives that "compromise public safety or promote anti-American values."
One of the Trump administration's most significant actions in this area was the recent shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which previously directed taxpayer funds to various international programs.
The White House cited concerns that USAID had been steering money toward what it described as a "leftist advocacy network," including funding for sex change clinics in India and other recipients whose activities ran counter to Trump's agenda.
The administration's decision to eliminate USAID represents part of a broader effort to halt funding for organizations that the White House believes do not align with its policy priorities.
The executive order extends beyond ideological concerns to address other controversial spending areas, including past government funding of gain-of-function virus research in Wuhan, China.
The White House referenced the lab that has been "suspected to be a cause of the COVID-19 pandemic," suggesting that more careful grant oversight might have prevented such funding decisions.
Trump's directive also mentions federal spending on AI tools for online censorship and on nonprofits providing free services to illegal immigrants as examples of problematic grant allocations that the new review process aims to prevent.
The White House framed the executive order as a matter of fiscal responsibility and proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars rather than purely political motivation.
"The Government holds tax revenue in trust for the American people, and agencies should treat it accordingly," states the executive order, emphasizing the administration's position that federal spending should directly benefit Americans.
The directive establishes a clear expectation that all federal grants will be scrutinized to ensure they align with the administration's priorities and represent what it considers to be appropriate use of public funds.
