Ranking Member Shaheen, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrats Release Report on Trump Administration’s Abuse of Taxpayer Funds and Private Dealmaking through Foreign Policy

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee published a report cataloging the waste and misuse of U.S. tax dollars by the Trump Administration in foreign affairs-detailing the financial costs, funding diversions and conflicts of interest as a result of the Trump Administration's foreign policy.

The report, titled "Whose Interests? The Costs and Conflicts of Trump's Foreign Policy," was commissioned by Ranking Member Shaheen and is the product of a months-long examination by the Minority staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The report catalogues the mounting costs to taxpayers from the Administration's rushed efforts to cut foreign assistance and dismantle USAID, its redirecting of congressionally appropriated funds and the financial consequences of the growing number of conflicts of interest involving members of President Trump's family, inner circle and other senior officials.

"President Trump promised to root out waste, fraud and abuse. Instead, his Administration has become a leading source of government waste while his family profits from business dealings with foreign governments," said Ranking Member Shaheen. "Our investigation reveals an Administration that has squandered taxpayer dollars, disregarded Congress's constitutional authority over spending and blurred the lines between public service and private profit. American taxpayers are being left with a bill of as much as $22 billion while the President's family and associates pursue lucrative business deals abroad. The presidency is a public trust, not a private business opportunity. Americans deserve accountability for every dollar wasted and every decision that puts personal profit ahead of the national interest."

Key findings and takeaways include:

• The Administration's Rushed, Chaotic Spending Cuts Generated Millions in Taxpayer Waste. The hurried effort to terminate foreign assistance led to wasted medicines and commodities that taxpayers had already paid for, including an estimated $22 million in mpox vaccines, $39 million in food commodities and nearly $10 million in family planning commodities that Administration officials tried to destroy before public reporting halted destruction operations. Efforts to sideline or terminate thousands of employees led to taxpayers paying more than $250 million for months of paid leave and other termination costs, during which some willing workers were not allowed to work. More than $70 million in taxpayer-funded assets-including transmitters, vehicles and generators-from the United States Agency for International Development and the U.S. Agency for Global Media were hastily disposed of and in some cases abandoned.
  
  
• The Cost of Dismantling USAID Could Reach $19 Billion, and Possibly Higher. The Administration has admitted that it may need as much as $19.2 billion to complete the process of terminating foreign assistance awards that were previously handled by the U.S. Agency for International Development, which the Administration abruptly dismantled without congressional authorization or input. That estimate does not include additional costs such as litigation costs or interest payments. This means that the cost of shuttering an agency could be nearly ten times what it cost to operate it. In 2025 alone, the Administration paid $8.9 million in interest penalties for delayed payments to vendors-and the true cost of settling and litigating contracts and awards remains to be seen.
  
  
• The Administration Weakened Oversight of Taxpayer-Funded Assets and Spending. The President has fired and threatened dozens of inspectors general, and administration officials have stonewalled congressional oversight requests and refused to cooperate with GAO investigations and audits. The Administration has transferred and obfuscated foreign assistance money in a way that makes transparency nearly impossible. It has shifted billions in global health funding that was subject to rigorous accountability and is now sending funds directly to governments with accountability metrics that have yet to be defined. The Administration also changed the rules to shield millions in foreign assistance contract terminations from independent audits, raising the audit threshold from $2.5 million to $50 million.
  
  
• The Administration Bypassed Funding Directives, Diverting Funds to Unrelated, Undefined Purposes. The Trump Administration has repeatedly flouted congressional funding directives, sending taxpayer dollars designated for national security priorities elsewhere. The report documents the Administration's efforts to redirect $1.25 billion in humanitarian and peacekeeping assistance toward the Board of Peace, an ill-defined entity President Trump founded that designates him chairman for life; to shift or withhold nearly $400 million Congress designated for Ukraine and Europe; and to transfer close to $1 billion in refugee assistance funding to the Department of Homeland Security for deportation initiatives.
  
  
• In Trump's Foreign Policy, Conflicts of Interest and the Potential for Self-Enrichment Abound. President Trump has created a permissive environment for private financial interests to intersect with official business. It is little surprise that many in his Administration have followed suit, resulting in U.S. officials-from Ambassadors to special envoys, to senior officials across the government-feeling free to pursue policies that may lead to a direct or future financial benefit to them, their family members or business partners. In 2025 alone, the President and his family made approximately $260 million from the sale of a stake in World Liberty Financial and at least $117 million in total foreign revenue, including from overseas real estate licensing and development agreements. From Venezuela to Armenia to Kazakhstan, the Trump Administration's pursuit of foreign policy goals is simultaneously opening doors for those with connections or in the President's inner circle to profit.
  
  

The report concludes with key recommendations to protect taxpayer dollars, guard against the diversion of public funds and prevent public officials from pursuing private enrichment while in office.

The full report is available HERE.

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