The government's Department of Efficiency (DOGE) announced Tuesday that the Inter-American Foundation has removed all but one employee from its pay to comply with President Trump's executive order to reduce federal bureaucracy.
According to Elon Musk-Headed Doge, the staff at independent federal agencies prior to downsizing was 48 years old, with an average employee salary of $131,000 a year.
“The Inter-American Foundation, an agency that is the main measure to issue foreign grants ($60 million budget), has now dropped to a statutory minimum (one active employee),” Doge tweeted.
The Inter-American Foundation, created by Congress in 1969, is granted “localized, community-driven development” in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the agency's website.
The agency has awarded approximately 5,800 grants worth more than $945 million since 1972, claiming that the approach is “increasingly recommended as the most effective way to improve the quality of life in marginalized communities.”
The cost-cutting initiative led by billionaire Tesla CEO Musk highlighted several examples of Inter-American Foundation grants that have been cancelled due to severe cuts, including:
- $903,811 for Peru's alpaca farming
- $364,500 to reduce social discrimination among Bolivian recyclers
- $813,210 for a vegetable garden in El Salvador
- $323,633 to promote cultural understanding of Venezuelan immigrants in Brazil
- $731,105 to improve marketability for Guatemalan mushrooms and peas
- $677,342 to expand sales of Honduras fruit and jam
- $483,345 to improve artisan salt production in Ecuador
- $39,250 for Brazilian beekeeping
The cuts came in response to Trump's February 19 executive order. Presidio Trust; American Foundation for African Development. The American Institute of Peace is “unnecessary.”
“The following non-uniform components and functions of government agencies will be excluded to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and such entities shall reduce the performance of statutory functions and personnel associated with them to the minimum presence and function required by law,” reads the order.
The Trump administration has been scrutinizing foreign aid as it seeks to eradicate federal waste, fraud and abuse.
The president was entrusted with Musk and his Doge team to lead the effort, making sure his executive orders were implemented and in force.
The Trump administration plans to eliminate approximately $60 billion in foreign aid spending, including ending 92% of grants issued by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and 45% of grants issued by the State Department.
Doge claims it saved about $55 billion since cutting prices.
The Inter-American Foundation did not respond to a request for comment in the mail.
