U.S. Congressman Buddy Carter (R-GA), a member of the newly formed House DOGE Subcommittee, gave an interview to Boris Sanchez at CNN to address the work of Trump Special Government Employee Elon Musk to cut federal employment and agencies, especially Musk’s decision to shut down the USAID.
[NOTE: The official government USAID site currently informs visitors: “On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.”]
Rep. Carter defended the decision to shut down the federal agency and said: “The aid, the USAID that was cut off, should’ve been cut off. I mean, $15 million for condoms for the Taliban.”
REP. BUDDY CARTER: USAID should’ve been cut off. I mean, $15 million for condoms for the Taliban?
BORIS SANCHEZ: Whoa whoa whoa — are you conflating things? pic.twitter.com/or9CNSyRUo
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 6, 2025
Sanchez interrupted Carter and repeated back his claim verbatim: “$15 million for condoms for the Taliban?”
Carter replied: “That’s what we’re hearing, that’s what they discovered.”
Sanchez asked the Congressman: “Are you conflating things? Are you talking about the $50 million that was supposedly meant for condoms in Gaza? Are you conflating those two things, sir?”
Carter defiantly replied: “I am not. I am not.” He added: “This is the type of thing we’re finding, and this is the kind of thing we want them to find.”
Addressing that fact that his assertion named the Taliban as condom recipients, rather than naming Hamas and Gaza residents, as other Trump administration officials have claimed, Carter said: “I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night. Don’t try and pull this over me, okay? That’s who we’re talking about here.”
When Sanchez said he would “look into that supposed $10 million for condoms for the Taliban,” Carter nodded his head. Sanchez added: “It sounds a lot like the false claim that we heard about condoms for Gaza which was way incorrect. Actually it was $100 million the last time I heard President Trump say it.”
REPORTER: Why is it important for Elon Musk to have access to the payments systems at Treasury?
TRUMP: Well, he’s got access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good, and it’s only if we agree with him pic.twitter.com/QFxGStrKTk
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 3, 2025
Sanchez is referencing the fact that on Monday, while signing executive orders in the Oval Office, President Trump said that DOGE had discovered, “A hundred, think of it, a hundred million dollars on condoms to Hamas. Condoms to Hamas.”
As seen in the White House press briefing above, on January 30, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said USAID had earmarked $50 million of condoms to send to Gaza.