Trump questions USAID’s $21M voter turnout funds for India, alleges election interference

Trump defended the decision to cancel the funding, speculating it was intended to “get somebody else elected” and comparing it to concerns over Russian interference in US elections.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday once again questioned USAID’s $21 million funding for ‘voter turnout efforts’ in India, accusing the aid agency of election interference, as it has faced a massive crackdown since he took office last month.

Speaking at an event in Miami, Trump defended the decision to cancel the funding, speculating it was intended to “get somebody else elected” and comparing it to concerns over Russian interference in US elections.

“Why do we need to spend $21 million on voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. We have got to tell the Indian Government… Because when we hear that Russia spent about two thousand dollars in our country, it was a big deal. They took some internet ads for two thousand dollars. This is a total breakthrough,” Trump alleged.

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The US President’s remarks came a day after he defended the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) decision to halt the $21 million in funding for voter turnout efforts in India.

While signing executive orders on Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago, Trump had said,”…And USD 21 million for voter turnout in India. Why are we giving USD 21 million to India? They got a lot of money there. One of the highest taxing countries in the world in terms of us. We can hardly get in there because their tariffs are so high.”

“But we’re giving USD 21 million for voter turnout. It’s voter turnout in India. What about like voter turnout here?,” the US President added.

Notably, India’s share of US aid over the past four years was 35% less than Pakistan’s $970 million, and significantly higher than China’s $49.7 million during the same period. The US provided $720 million in assistance to India in the past four years, with 64% allocated to health initiatives.

On February 16, DOGE, listed items on which the “US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent” and the list included “USD 21M for voter turnout in India.” DOGE noted that all of the items have been cancelled.

The list also included USD 29 million to “strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh”, USD 20 million for “fiscal federalism” and USD 19 million for “biodiversity conversation” in Nepal as well as USD 47 million for “improving learning outcomes in Asia.”

The DOGE has been put in charge of overseeing workforce reduction across the government, and as part of that, Musk announced that he would shut down USAID, which is responsible for humanitarian efforts around the globe.

According to USAID officials on February 7, all USAID humanitarian work worldwide had been stopped and the agency’s website was shut down before Musk’s announcement.

Later, a Trump-nominated judge announced a temporary restraining order that prevents the president and DOGE from placing 2,200 employees on administrative leave.