gop ex-gov. George Pataki, who set up a relief fund to support Ukrainians after the Russian invasion, said on Sunday that President Trump is supporting the move to erase the “far left” international USAID agency .
Pataki, who visited Ukraine multiple times as part of his relief efforts, said he was surprised that the US International Development Agency would not give his pro-Ukrainian charity initiatives time under the Biden administration.
“This has been a long delay,” Pataki, 79, said. I said WABC 770 AM's The Cats Roundtable program refers to Trump's move to overhaul agency.
“I had experience with USAID, and it was awful,” said the former New York GOV.
“They're a lot of guys who ran it the far left way,” Pataki said of the top USAID. “We'll completely dismantle it and start over from scratch.”
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from placing thousands of employees in USAID on paid leave Friday, halting the president's plan to reduce the workforce to just a few hundred.
Billionaire tech giant Elon Musk began the process of closing USAID nearly two weeks ago. His team of government efficiency engineers gained access to the agency's headquarters as part of their mission to review their $40 billion funding program and trim wasteful spending.
Pataki said, “When he heard about some of the USAID spending projects that include $1.5 million to support increased diversity, equity, inclusion and “employment of LGBT+ people,” according to USASPENDING.GOV. said he was furious.
“What they were doing under Biden was a criminal. …You have to clean your home, and what is it? [Trump] The former governor of the third term said.
USAID has been allocated billions of dollars to provide assistance to Ukraine.
Pataki, through his nonprofit Pataki Leadership Center, I've delivered the above 1,000 heaters and generators, as well as a large amount of medical and sanitary supplies, assisting in the construction of mobile housings for refugees in the same war, but he said he has not collaborated with USAID.
“We've gone there with everything we provide humanitarian aid. We saw virtually nothing from USAID,” he said. “We talked to them and they said, “Look, we have an entirely volunteer organization. We are on the ground in Ukraine. We can provide things efficiently. Soon.”
“They've had a lot of interest because they've experienced their peers, Washington partners who have given billions of grants,” Pataki said. “These Washington organizations have huge bureaucrats who spend their money on themselves.”
The former governor claims that “mostly” money is spent on what is needed in Ukraine, such as generators and heaters.
“That's exactly how USAID operates. It was a terrible organization. …It's been a long time since we completely dismantled it and started over again,” Pataki said.
He said the failure of the USAID symbolizes the Biden administration's handling of the Russian-Ukraine war.
“The war was a catastrophe. Biden's leadership was a disaster for Ukraine, digging out help and effectively extending the war for three years… causing great losses to the Ukrainians,” he said. Ta.
Pataki said he hopes he will become a strong leader in building a peace agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky to end the war.
Zelensky “had done an incredible job of bringing together the people of Ukraine and the causes of their country's freedom,” Pataki said.
However, he supported new elections in Ukraine following the peace treaty.
“If we can sign a peace treaty with Russia, a fair election in Ukraine will give them the opportunity to say, “We are now at peace. Let's rebuild our country. And choose leadership “It could be Zelensky again,” Pataki said.
