Donald Trump Blocks $50 Million Funding for Condoms in Gaza
January 29, 2025
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The Trump administration put a freeze on federal funding, including $50 million originally earmarked for condom distribution in Gaza, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The freeze, now temporarily blocked by a federal judge, was part of a broader fiscal policy aimed at reviewing and potentially reallocating federal budget expenditures to align with the administration’s priorities.
It was previously set to go into effect at 5:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Why It Matters
The decision to freeze federal funding was part of an executive order aimed at rigorously reviewing and potentially reallocating U.S. budget expenditures across the board, with a focus on ensuring that all spending aligns with national interests and priorities.
The court’s ruling highlights the potential legal challenges to adjusting how federal funds are administered amid concerns about the broader implications for both domestic and international programs.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds her first news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on January 28, 2025 in Washington, DC. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds her first news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on January 28, 2025 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
What To Know
During Tuesday’s briefing, Leavitt said the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by tech billionaire Elon Musk, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) discovered the funds for condom distribution in Gaza shortly before they were due to be disbursed.
“DOGE and OMB also found that there was about to be 50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza,” she said. “That is a preposterous waste of taxpayer money.”
Condoms in humanitarian aid are used for health and reproductive purposes. In the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) said blocking aid shipments into Gaza would harm “enormous gains” made in life saving sexual and reproductive healthcare.
IPPF added that Palestinians are “systematically denied sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights.”
On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the state department was reviewing all foreign assistance programs to make sure they’re consistent with Trump’s America First agenda. Rubio said policies are justified if they make America safer, stronger and more prosperous.
What People Are Saying
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a press conference on Tuesday: “Without a shred of warning, the Trump administration announced a halt to virtually all federal funds across the country. In an instant, Donald Trump has shut off billions, perhaps trillions of dollars that directly support states, cities, towns, schools, hospitals, small businesses, and most of all, American families… It is just outrageous. Funds for things like disaster assistance, local law enforcement, rural hospitals, aid to the elderly, food for people in need, all are on the chopping block in this new administration[…].”
Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Tuesday, as reported by Politico: “I think that’s a normal practice at the beginning of administration, until they have an opportunity to review how the money is being spent…We’ll see kind of what the extent of it is, and … what they intend to do in a more fulsome way. But for now, I think it’s just, it’s just kind of a preliminary step that I think most administrations take.”
Matthew Vaeth, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), wrote in a January 27 memo obtained by Politico: “The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during Tuesday’s briefing: “That’s what this pause is focused on, being good stewards of tax dollars.”
What Happens Next
The temporary block on the funding freeze imposed by U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan lasts through next Monday, February 3 at 5 p.m. ET.
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