Exclusive: An audit conducted by Mississippi auditor Shad White has uncovered several instances of what he calls “incredibly wasteful” spending related to state HIV/AIDS grants. This scrutiny has gained attention, especially as President Trump has faced criticism for cutting funds deemed inefficient by the government.
According to White’s report, funds allocated for HIV/AIDS issues were oddly spent on a “Latin Pride Month” celebration linked to the Spanish term “Queer-Ceanara,” which was associated with a young girl’s 15th birthday party.
“We’re following the approach that President Trump and Doge suggested: closely examining taxpayer funding in Mississippi,” White shared in a conversation, referencing what some call “Moge,” which he labels as Mississippi’s take on Elon Musk’s Doge initiative regarding government efficiency.
“Our current focus is on identifying grants distributed by state agencies to nonprofit organizations. Sadly, our findings are pretty disheartening for taxpayers,” he disclosed.
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“We began our investigation by looking into grants meant for HIV testing assistance. These funds were going through the Mississippi Department of Health, but some nonprofits spent it on activities that seem, well, incredibly pointless,” he said.
White also pointed out that taxpayer money intended for productive use was used on a taxi ride that cost a hefty amount, covering a distance of nearly 1,000 miles to New York City.
“It looked more like a bar-hopping adventure,” he commented.
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White expressed concern that if such funding mismanagement can happen in a predominantly Republican state like Mississippi, it may illustrate a much larger problem in states with more lenient financial oversight.
“Our audits reveal that when we investigate the spending of this money, we’re not effectively assisting individuals with HIV/AIDS. Rather, it seems to be wasted,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s National Institutes of Health has been working on scaling back its efforts, with critics warning that, as one CNN report mentioned, “people will die” as a consequence of these cuts.
Back in Jackson, White emphasized that the audit on HIV/AIDS funding is part of his office’s wider mission to protect state taxpayer money.
“Doge emphasizes the risks involved when grants transition from federal to state levels and are subsequently funneled to nonprofits, which creates significant fraud risks,” he pointed out.
“Our audits show that even the most outrageous spending seen at the federal level is also occurring in red states like here,” he added.
