President Donald Trump signed a memorandum in the Oval Office on Aug. 28 directing officials to investigate the use of taxpayer funds for grants that support illegal partisan political activities.
The move comes after preliminary reviews uncovered grant money used with “highly political overtones,” according to the order.
“In addition to being a wasteful, abusive, and potentially fraudulent use of the American people’s money, the possible use of Federal grants as slush funds for political and legislative advocacy raises serious legal concerns,” Trump wrote in the memorandum.
Existing law, known as the Byrd amendment, limits the use of grant money and prohibits some recipients from using the resources for lobbying efforts.
Pursuant to the new order, Attorney General Pam Bondi is instructed to consult with other departments and agencies to investigate any illegal use of federal grant money for politically motivated activities, with a report to the president due within 180 days.
“President Trump is enhancing accountability in Federal spending, including grantmaking, by ensuring that taxpayer funds aren’t diverted to support political or lobbying activity,” the White House said in a statement.
Investigations are underway after details of some grant arrangements came to light in the first months of the second Trump administration. A program for “transgender boys” adapted from an LGBT teen pregnancy prevention program was funded through a grant from the National Institutes of Health, according to the White House.
And a grant on “advancing racial justice in elementary mathematics” was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the White House said.
These programs and others are on the way out as officials seek to rein in spending, increase accountability, and eliminate the politicization of federal spending.
“Taxpayer funds should be used to benefit the general public, not to support political or lobbying activities,” the White House said. “This prohibition must be enforced to prevent grantees from using taxpayer funds to advocate for more taxpayer funds for themselves.”
The order parallels other policies enacted by Trump in the first seven months of his second term, with a stated goal of mitigating bureaucratic hurdles and reducing waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.
An executive order signed by the president on Aug. 7 to improve federal grant oversight declared that “every tax dollar the Government spends should improve American lives or advance American interests.”
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