Exclusive — Labor Department Saves $33 Million by Slashing USAID-Like America Last Grants

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer saved millions of taxpayer dollars by slashing grants to foreign countries that were similar to those of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Breitbart News has learned exclusively.

Secretary Chavez-DeRemer was sworn in a week ago and has already made headway into trimming the budget at the Department of Labor (DOL) by slashing tens of millions of dollars in grants to foreign countries to shore up their labor policies.

Breitbart News has learned exclusively that the Labor Department has sent taxpayer dollars overseas. The cuts DeRemer has made so far include:

Cutting a $1.5 million grant to enhance transparency and accountability in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry
Eliminating a $7 million grant promoting climate change policies and practices in Brazil, Chile, South Africa, and Colombia
Scrapping $18 million in grants promoting collective bargaining in Brazil, Colombia, Cote D’Ivoire, Indonesia, and Guatemala
Slashing a $1.5 million grant to improve compliance in workplace standards for the country of Georgia

Many of these grants are similar to those of USAID, which sent untold millions of dollars to foreign governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other groups.

The canceled foreign grants follow Secretary Chavez-DeRemer’s declaration on day one as head of the Labor Department that the department would move to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.

In a memo last week to executive staff and agency heads within the DOL, she ordered a review of budgets to identify opportunities to cut “wasteful contract spending” and recommend ways to “cut redundancies and low-performing employees.”

“By adhering to the principles of fiscal responsibility and efficiency, we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of Americans,” she wrote in the memo.

“At the direction of the President, the Department of Labor has already saved the American taxpayer $125 million, and this important work must continue to root out waste, fraud, and abuse,” she contended, noting that many of these contracts include discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training and consulting.

“Thank you for your dedication to our mission of Putting American Workers First as we work together on behalf of President Trump to usher in a new Golden Age of economic prosperity,” she wrote in her memo to staff. “I look forward to collaborating to create a positive impact on the lives of millions of workers and their families.”

Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.