World Bank officials, who have come under fire for missing $24 billion in climate change funds, are panicking at the prospect of deep budget cuts as President-elect Donald Trump pledges to cut U.S. government spending. The Post reported that.
Officials accuse the Washington-based financial institution's top brass of operating it like a slush fund for jet-setting bureaucrats, despite its mission to fight poverty and climate change. However, since Trump's landslide victory in the election, he has become nervous.
It was revealed this week that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a White House advisory body called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and sources say they could be eyeing the World Bank. It is said that there is a sex.
“Ever since Trump won, they've been running around like headless chickens,” one full-time employee told the newspaper on condition of anonymity.
“That caused fear,” the official added. “They will be desperately trying to show that they are saving money.”
President Trump on Tuesday nominated the Tesla giant and a former Republican presidential challenger to head DOGE. Mr. Ramaswamy said he and Mr. Musk would “bring the chainsaws” to cut down on reckless spending.
“The government shouldn't be in the business of giving away money for free. Uncle Sam shouldn't be a 'sucker uncle,'” the 39-year-old tech entrepreneur wrote in X.
A source close to the Republican agitator told the Post that all foreign aid spending is “within range” of cuts.
One area ripe for the knife is the World Bank's lavish spending on air travel, facilitated by a policy that allows unelected bureaucrats to upgrade to business class on flights of five hours or more. It is.
Leaked documents obtained by The Post show how executives blown away nearly $9,000 on round-trip business class flights with private suites from Washington Dulles Airport to Baku, Azerbaijan on ultra-luxury Qatar Airways. There is.
That's despite regulations governing the country's development agency, USAID's domestic counterpart to the World Bank, stating that “air travel is only permitted in economy class” and must use U.S. airlines. Despite this.
During the former Trump administration, World Bank officials made extraordinary efforts to retain the 45th president, repeatedly inviting his daughter and then-adviser Ivanka. To give a talk at the conference.
Now, a second World Bank official says there is “a lot of anxiety” at the World Bank after the 78-year-old real estate tycoon defeated Kamala Harris in a landslide victory in the Electoral College on November 5. spoke.
“Last year, management launched a productivity savings initiative, asking each vice president to cut 5% of their budget annually from non-essential spending,” a World Bank spokesperson said. .
He added that Biden's nominee to head the World Bank, Ajay Banga, has put the financial institution “on a rapid trajectory to make it better and more effective.”
The latest revelations came after the Post reported on revelations by the left-wing charity Oxfam, which accused authorities of “losing sight” of at least $24 billion in funding for climate change projects.
In an investigation released last month, the international body blamed “poor record-keeping” and a lack of transparency. The bank strongly disputed this finding.
The study echoes Congressional testimony from former Trump Treasury official David Malpass in 2017.
Mr. Malpass, who took over the World Bank after two years, told lawmakers that the institution was “not very efficient” and “often corrupt in its lending operations.”
Former Bear Stearns executive slams how employees spent taxpayer cash overseas when they “floated first class to advise government officials” did.
Sources said executives in downtown Washington repeatedly blocked President Trump's proposals to crack down on long-haul business class travel policies during his first term.
“The attitude was, ‘Who cares?’ It’s not our money anyway,” one source lamented.
Last year, the U.S. government watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, conducted an investigation into how banks contract around the world.
According to it, “U.S. companies account for about 1 percent of all World Bank borrowers.”
Contract dollars awarded from fiscal years 2013 through 2022. ”
GAO officials also warned that the Treasury Department does not have a “formal process for determining whether and how to monitor World Bank borrower projects.”
The report cited how Chinese giant Huawei came close to awarding a contract for an undersea cable off the coast of Guam, saying, “Without such a process, the Treasury Department would actively monitor the project and may not be able to address potential risks to its interests.” US territory.
The World Bank was founded in 1944 to help rebuild Europe and Japan after World War II. It is currently distributing cash to less wealthy countries as a way to “create a world without poverty.”
Aside from business class travel, our staff enjoys luxurious perks that many hard-working Americans can only dream of.
These include a tax-free salary, a generous pension plan that requires only 5% employee contributions, and lifetime health insurance in the United States.
The generosity of American taxpayers allows some bank directors to earn more than the commander in chief of the United States.
Senior executives in Washington can take home up to $511,000 per year Without giving a penny to Uncle Sam.
By contrast, President Biden receives a pre-tax salary. $400,000 annually.
Even the World Bank's most junior employees can pocket up to $62,000 tax-free.
Because the United States is a major founding member of the World Bank, it is the only government that can veto changes in the way the Bank operates.
Wealthy countries not only donate directly to banks, but also pledge billions of dollars that allow them to take out huge loans to finance projects abroad.
According to a May 2024 report by the Congressional Research Service, the World Bank's total capital is just under $320 billion, with U.S. taxpayers contributing or with up to $57 billion in arrears.
