White House defends cutting $4.5M for combating disinformation in Kazakhstan
U.S. President's press secretary sent a strong message to Democrats over unnecessary federal spending at a Feb 5. press conference, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
Before finishing the press conference dedicated to addressing a wide range of questions, Karoline Leavitt, press secretary of the U.S. President, sent “a strong message to Democrats” about the federal budget cuts Trump’s administration is making.
Among the highlighted spending reductions was a $4.5 million allocation aimed at combating disinformation in Kazakhstan.
According to Leavitt, the administration is committed to reducing what it deems unnecessary federal spending, citing examples such as “$2 million for sex changes in Guatemala. $6 million to fund tourism in Egypt, $20 million on a new Sesame Street show in Iraq, and $4.5 million to combat disinformation in Kazakhstan.”
Leavitt addressed critics of the budget cuts decisions, stating, “I would just say a strong message to Democrats who are out there pretending to be outraged about the long list of crap that this administration is cutting federal waste and funding (...) I could go on and on, and I'm happy to provide this list to every single one of you.”
She also accused Democrats of failing to address the needs of Americans over the past four years, particularly in states like North Carolina and California, where many citizens have faced significant hardships.
“Democrats are outraged that the American people want to be, they want their taxpayers going to good uses, not stuff like this,” Leavitt said.
Earlier, Kazinform reported that the White House has also criticized US Agency for International Development (USAID) projects, citing allegations of waste and fraud. Following that, the agency's staff responsible for overseeing civilian foreign aid and development assistance are reportedly being placed on leave starting this Friday.
