WASHINGTON, D.C. – Protesters rallying against the sweep of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) say that ending ‘corporate welfare’ should be prioritized over looking at money being reportedly funneled to terror-linked groups.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been conducting a review of ‘waste’ identified within USAID, the government agency that handles the distribution of foreign aid.

According to an analysis by the Middle East Forum, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the USAID and State Department have funneled at least $122 million to groups aligned with designated terrorists and their supporters. A White House report also identified $15 million of taxpayer dollars being spent on condoms for the Taliban, a known terrorist group.

On Wednesday, Fox News Digital asked individuals protesting the USAID cuts outside the U.S. Capitol their thoughts about the agency reportedly funding terrorist-aligned groups. 

‘I don’t want to hear anything about funding until we stop corporate welfare,’ one protester, who was wearing a mask, told Fox News Digital.

‘I think before we talk about funding that we’re sending off to other countries or devoting to poor people in this country that need help,’ he added, ‘we need to talk about the billions in subsidies that we give to corporations like Tesla, like Space X.’

Another individual, also wearing a mask, said giving money to issues that don’t prioritize helping Americans is ‘crazy.’

‘We need to be worrying about our people. We’re not out here giving money to help our people here and suffering,’ they told Fox. ‘Any money going toward other issues is just crazy.’

Asked about funding to terrorist-linked groups, Michael, a member of Veterans for Peace, said, ‘Funding has to be looked at, but I would suspect that that’s a very small minority of the funding that the U.S. does.’

‘Foreign aid is less than 1% of the U.S. budget. So it’s a very small monetary number,’ he added. ‘And like all programs, it needs to be evaluated every so often. And I think that the small number of programs who supposedly are connected with unsavory type groups are in the minority.’

The protesters all expressed opposition to Musk’s role in the Trump administration as he spearheads efforts to cut costs within the federal government.

‘If the White House would take the time to look at where the funding goes, I think they’d be more than happy with the results and the impact of U.S. taxpayer dollars to make the U.S. safer, stronger, and more prosperous,’ said Mary, who is retired.

Several Democratic lawmakers spoke at the rally, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, and Reps. John Garamendi and Lateefah Simon of California.

The White House issued a report that revealed where taxpayer dollars have been funneled through the agency, such as over $400,000 to ‘help Indonesian coffee companies become more climate and gender friendly through USAID.’

Musk said on X that he and President Donald Trump came to an agreement that the agency needed to be shut down.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.

Republican spending hawks in the House of Representatives are pushing their leaders to include at least $2.5 trillion in spending cuts in a massive piece of legislation intended to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Republicans held their weekly closed-door agenda meeting on Wednesday where they discussed a path forward via the budget reconciliation process. 

By lowering the threshold in the Senate from two-thirds to a simple majority – which the House already operates under – reconciliation allows the party in power to pass sweeping fiscal policy changes while skirting the opposition.

Several sources told Fox News Digital there was significant ‘frustration’ within the House GOP conference on Wednesday over a lack of a concrete final plan from Republican leadership. 

One GOP lawmaker said that tension bubbled up with several ‘heated exchanges,’ with conservatives demanding a concrete plan and minimum spending cuts at significantly higher levels than what was initially proposed.

‘I think there’s a lot of frustration right now,’ the lawmaker told Fox News Digital. ‘They’ve been trying to be inclusive, but not every open forum they’ve offered is giving members the ability to say, ‘I feel like people are listening to me,’ because I don’t know that’s the case right now.’

There’s also concern that the Senate, which is growing impatient with the House, could move forward with its own plan if the House doesn’t release one first – which House Republicans worry will include much shallower spending cuts than what could pass in the lower chamber.

‘What we’re worried about is losing the opportunity. I think we’re more likely to cut than they are,’ a second GOP lawmaker said.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham R-S.C., announced plans to move forward with the upper chamber’s own bill on Wednesday afternoon. He now plans to advance a measure through his committee next week.

A third House Republican said GOP lawmakers were fed up waiting for a ‘play call.’

But senior House GOP aides pushed back on the notion there was no play call, pointing out that Republican leaders held countless listening sessions culminating at the recent three-day House GOP retreat in Miami to consult members and emerge with a blueprint for a one-bill strategy that maintains scoring flexibility. The aides said the reconciliation process has had a 95% participation rate among House Republicans.

House GOP leaders were forced to delay a key vote on advancing a reconciliation bill through the House Budget Committee, the first step in the process, after spending hawks pushed back on initial proposals for spending cuts between $300 billion and $600 billion.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said on Tuesday night that it would likely be planned for next week, but that leaders’ final goal of having a bill on Trump’s desk in May remained unimpeded. 

Three sources told Fox News Digital that leaders are floating a plan that would include roughly $1.65 trillion as a baseline for spending cuts, though two people stressed they saw the figure as one of several tentative ideas rather than a final plan.

Two other sources said it would also include measures that lead to an additional $1.65 trillion in economic growth.

Republicans are trying to pass a broad swath of Trump policies via reconciliation, from more funding for border security to eliminating taxes on tips and overtime wages. Trump has also made clear that he views extending his Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 as vital to the process.

The tax cuts have proved a sticking point with some spending hawks, however, because several estimates show they could add upwards of $1 trillion to the federal deficit over 10 years if extended. Those spending hawks have said they support extending the tax cuts but are seeking deep funding rollbacks elsewhere to offset them.

Three people involved in the discussions also told Fox News Digital that House GOP leaders are considering extending the TCJA tax cuts by five years instead of 10 to mitigate those concerns.

Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., two conservative members of the House Budget Committee, both told reporters they wanted to see the baseline for spending cuts set at roughly $2.5 trillion.

Roy told reporters that $2.5 trillion would amount to roughly $250 billion per year in federal savings over 10 years – while pointing out the U.S. was currently running a $36 trillion national debt.

House GOP leaders vowed to seek $2.5 trillion in spending cuts back in December, to get conservatives on board with a bill averting a partial government shutdown.

‘They said $2.5 trillion of cuts. So, deliver. That will unlock the door,’ Roy said.

Norman told reporters multiple times this week that he wants between $2 trillion and $3 trillion in cuts.

Staffers and contractors who work with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were stunned and angered after President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – the government accountability unit headed by billionaire Elon Musk – effectively shut down the $40 billion agency on Monday.

One USAID staffer who wished to remain anonymous told Fox News Digital that 80% of staff across its bureaus learned they lost access to the agency’s systems on Monday morning, including travel, communications, classified information and databases – leading to questions about how to repatriate American citizens in some of the most dangerous places in the world should the need arise.

Staffers also feel they were ‘left high and dry’ and ‘have no idea what to do or where to turn’ after being ‘abandoned by Congress and the government,’ the source said, adding they felt the agency was ‘hostilely taken over by DOGE.’ 

‘The richest man in the world is taking this away from the poorest people in the world,’ the source said of Musk.

USAID was set up in the early 1960s to act on behalf of the U.S. to deliver aid across the globe, particularly in impoverished and underdeveloped regions. The Trump administration alleges that much of the spending has been wasteful, promoting a liberal agenda around the world. 

DOGE has particularly criticized a $1.5 million program slated to ‘advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities’ and a $70,000 program for a ‘DEI musical’ in Ireland.

Democrats counter that the agency plays a vital role in U.S. national security interests and say it should remain independent. They point to the work USAID did to counter Soviet influence during the Cold War – a sphere of influence that could remain a concern amid China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

‘It’s not a generosity project,’ the source said of USAID, ‘this is a national security agency and effort at its core’ that ‘protects borders and cuts threats off,’ such as working to contain Ebola and dispersing COVID vaccines to keep such threats outside the U.S.

Musk has said that both he and Trump ‘agreed’ that the agency should be ‘shut down.’ Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been named acting director of the independent agency, on Monday echoed the sentiment, telling reporters, ‘USAID is not functioning.’

‘It needs to be aligned with the national interest of the U.S. They’re not a global charity, these are taxpayer dollars. People are asking simple questions. What are they doing with the money?’ Rubio continued. ‘We are spending taxpayers’ money. We owe the taxpayers assurances that it furthers our national interest.’

The scope of work overseen by USAID is vast and ranges from administering foreign aid through humanitarian efforts like famine relief, clean water distribution programs, and medical services, including administering polio vaccines, HIV/AIDS relief and prevention work. It also bolsters democracy, human rights and governance initiatives.

The source said the stop work order has left medications for HIV and even vaccines meant for distribution in overseas regions sitting on shelves, saying, ‘It has all stopped.’

Steve Schmida, who runs global consulting firm Resonance, which competes for contracts with USAID, told Fox News Digital that the shutdown is impacting contractors in the form of layoffs, furloughs and a reduction in hours. He also said the stop-work order has prevented his employees from getting paid for work they’ve already done.

Schmida said DOGE is ‘controlling payments’ by taking over the payment system. He accused the Musk-led agency of ‘intentionally defrauding us.’

‘If not stopped, it will spread to the rest of the government,’ Schmida said, adding that the Trump administration’s DOGE could use its takeover of the payment system as ‘a weapon against American citizens, denying Social Security and Medicare if they step out of line.’

Schmida said the foreign assistance community recognizes and shares the desire to reform the system, stating it ‘could work a lot better,’ though he urged the government to work toward improvement rather than the destruction of an agency whose work has been built up over seven decades.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.