Democrats thought they could protect their favorite slush fund from President Trump’s cost-cutting measures.
They never expected someone to dig this deep into the corruption.
And Kelly Loeffler just dragged USAID into the spotlight with this earth-shattering announcement that Democrats will hate.
Small Business Administration launches massive fraud investigation
Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced a sweeping investigation that has sent shockwaves through Washington, D.C.
She’s launching a comprehensive audit targeting all government contracting officers who held grant-awarding authority under the agency’s business development program dating back 15 years.
This dramatic action follows revelations of widespread bribery at USAID that reveals the depth of corruption plaguing federal agencies.
In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Loeffler said the scale of the USAID fraud is "a damning reflection of systemic failures in oversight and accountability."
She further stated that the fraud "was not an isolated incident."
Loeffler directed Associate Administrator Tre Pennie to take immediate action and begin a thorough audit reaching back to 2010.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Democrats who fought tooth and nail to protect USAID from President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency cuts.
USAID official caught red-handed in million-dollar bribery scheme
The corruption at the heart of this scandal involves USAID contracting officer Roderick Watson.
Watson, who is 57 years old, pleaded guilty to bribery charges after running a corruption operation lasting more than a decade.
Watson began accepting bribes in 2013 from contractors who wanted favorable treatment.
Walter Barnes, who owns Vistant, and Darryl Britt, who owns Apprio, used subcontractor Paul Young as an intermediary to hide their corrupt payments.
The bribes Watson received were staggering in their scope and audacity.
A DOJ press release stated that Britt and Barnes "regularly funneled bribes to Watson, including cash, laptops, thousands of dollars in tickets to a suite at an NBA game, a country club wedding, downpayments on two residential mortgages, cellular phones, and jobs for relatives."
The DOJ press release further explained that the bribes were "also often concealed through electronic bank transfers falsely listing Watson on payroll, incorporated shell companies, and false invoices."
The DOJ statement said that Watson is alleged to have received bribes "valued at more than approximately $1 million as part of the scheme."
The corruption goes even deeper when you examine what Watson was approving with taxpayer dollars.
Biden administration awarded corrupt company $800 million contract
Here’s where the story gets truly outrageous.
In November 2023, Vistant received a joint venture contract potentially worth $800 million.
Part of this enormous contract focused on tackling "a variety of issues affecting the root causes of irregular migration from Central America to the United States."
This was the exact issue President Joe Biden tasked then-Vice President Kamala Harris with handling during his presidency.
So while Harris was supposedly working on border security, the Biden administration was handing out hundreds of millions of dollars to a company involved in bribing federal officials.
The Biden administration’s incompetence didn’t stop there.
Days after receiving the contract, it was terminated when USAID determined that Vistant lacked business integrity.
However, the joint venture fought back in court and successfully challenged their exclusion.
They regained the contract and received an additional $10,000 payment in August 2024.
The Biden administration literally paid a corrupt company after determining they lacked "honesty and integrity."
Loeffler vows to root out corruption and protect taxpayers
Administrator Loeffler isn’t pulling any punches in her response to this scandal.
She criticized the USAID scandal as "a collapse in the very safeguards that are supposed to protect American taxpayer dollars and ensure fair access for legitimate small businesses."
Loeffler specifically called out the Biden administration for awarding the $800 million contract to Vistant despite the business being labeled as lacking "honesty and integrity."
"The fact that a federal official was able to act as the linchpin of a persistent, large-scale fraud operation speaks to a failure in internal controls and a breakdown in the contracting environment that demands immediate correction," Loeffler stated.
She made it clear that the Small Business Administration "will no longer stand by while abuses are perpetrated at the expense of taxpayers and deserving small businesses."
The audit will begin with high-dollar and limited competition contracts within SBA’s 8(a) business development program.
Any findings will be referred to the U.S. Office of Inspector General and the Department of Justice.
Officials or businesses found violating ethical standards or committing criminal misconduct will face the full force of the law.
Loeffler promised the SBA will assist DOJ in recovering misappropriated funds.
"We will not allow public trust to be quietly eroded by backdoor deals and unchecked discretion," Loeffler declared.
"We owe it to America’s small businesses to get this right."
Democrats fought to protect this corrupt system
This scandal vindicates President Trump’s decision to essentially dismantle USAID through DOGE waste, fraud and abuse cuts.
Democrats threw massive protests and claimed cutting USAID would harm recipients across the globe.
They painted themselves as champions of foreign aid and international development.
But the truth is Democrats were protecting a corrupt system that funneled taxpayer dollars to cronies and political allies.
The USAID scandal proves President Trump was right to target these agencies for elimination.
While Democrats were crying about helping people around the world, federal officials were getting rich off bribes and kickbacks.
This is exactly the kind of deep state corruption President Trump promised to root out.
Thanks to Administrator Loeffler’s decisive action, the American people will finally get answers about how their tax dollars were stolen and misused.
The audit represents a critical step toward restoring integrity to government contracting and ensuring taxpayer dollars go where they’re supposed to go.
Democrats may have thought they could protect their favorite slush funds from scrutiny.
But the Trump administration is just getting started cleaning house.
