In the latest, the Donald Trump administration’s cost-cutting team, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), canceled several overseas projects, including a $21 million fund allocated for voter turnout efforts in India in order to save U.S taxpayers money.
US President Donald Trump strongly supported DOGE’s action, stating that the financial aid was unnecessary given India’s economic status. The $21 million fund had been designated to support efforts which focuses at increasing voter participation in India’s elections. However, Trump maintained that such expenditures were not a priority for U.S. taxpayers.
Trump remarked, “Why are we giving USD 21 million to India? They have a lot more money. They are one of the highest taxing countries in the world. We can hardly get in there because their tariffs are so high. I have a lot of respect for India and their Prime Minister, but giving USD 21 million for voter turnout?”
DOGE, led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, announced that it had canceled $22 million in funding intended for “voter turnout in India.” In a post on X, DOGE said, “US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all of which have been cancelled…” The cuts included “$21M for voter turnout in India; $29M for strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh; $20M for fiscal federalism in Nepal.”
No additional details were provided in the post. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit out at the Congress, accusing it of enabling foreign intervention in India’s democratic processes. Head of the BJP IT cell, Amit Malviya, posted on X, “It is becoming increasingly evident that the Congress-led UPA systematically enabled the infiltration of India’s institutions by forces opposed to the nation’s interests.”
He further linked the issue to billionaire George Soros, claiming his involvement in the electoral process was part of a broader effort to weaken India. In reply, the Congress Party demanded an investigation into the matter. Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken expressed concern, saying, “Any kind of foreign intervention in our democratic process or election process is unwarranted and not correct. We oppose it and believe it should be condemned with a probe into the matter.”
Meanwhile, Sanjeev Sanyal, Member, the Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister Narendra Modi , questioned the US Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) claim Sanyal questioned the origins and recipients of the $21 million earmarked for India. “Would love to find out who received the US$21mn spent to improve “voter turnout in India” and the US$29mn to “strengthen political landscape in Bangladesh “; not to mention the US$29mn spent to improve “fiscal federalism” in Nepal. USAID is the biggest scam in human history”, Sanyal said in a post on X.
Comments