The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced Tuesday that the Inter-American Foundation has removed all but one employee from its payroll in order to comply with President Trump’s executive order on reducing federal bureaucracy.
The headcount at the independent federal agency prior to the downsizing was 48 and the average employee salary was $131,000 per year, according to the Elon Musk-headed DOGE.
“The Inter-American Foundation, an agency whose primary action was to issue foreign grants ($60M budget), has been reduced to its statutory minimum (1 active employee),” DOGE tweeted.
The Inter-American Foundation, created by Congress in 1969, issues grants to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean for “localized community-led development,” according to the agency’s website.
The agency has awarded some 5,800 grants valued at more than $945 million since 1972 and argues that its approach is “increasingly recommended as the most effective way to improve the quality of life in marginalized communities.”
The cost-cutting initiative, led by billionaire Tesla CEO Musk, highlighted several examples of Inter-American Foundation grants that were canceled through the severe reduction, including:
- $903,811 for alpaca farming in Peru
- $364,500 to reduce social discrimination of recyclers in Bolivia
- $813,210 for vegetable gardens in El Salvador
- $323,633 to promote cultural understanding of Venezuelan migrants in Brazil
- $731,105 to improve marketability of mushrooms and peas in Guatemala
- $677,342 to expand fruit and jam sales in Honduras
- $483,345 to improve artisanal salt production in Ecuador
- $39,250 for beekeeping in Brazil
The cuts were made in response to Trump’s Feb. 19 executive order, which deemed federal spending on Inter-American Foundation; the Presidio Trust; the United States African Development Foundation; and the United States Institute of Peace “unnecessary.”
“The non-statutory components and functions of the following governmental entities shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and such entities shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law,” read the order.
The Trump administration has scrutinized foreign aid spending as it seeks to root out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.
The president has tasked Musk and his DOGE team to lead that effort as well as see that his executive orders are implemented and enforced.
The Trump administration plans to eliminate roughly $60 billion in foreign aid spending, including by terminating 92% of grants issued by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and 45% of grants issued by the State Department.
DOGE claims it has saved about $55 billion since launching the price-slashing spree.
The Inter-American Foundation did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
