In his ongoing criticism of the alleged misuse of USAID funding, U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated his rhetoric, branding it a “kickback scheme.” The BJP’s IT Cell chief seized the opportunity, posting a video online and alleging the funds propped up “deep state assets” in India, while calling for a thorough probe. 

Yet, a detailed investigation by The Indian Express throws a curveball, as evidence points to the USAID money being earmarked for Bangladesh, not India’s voter turnout, contradicting earlier assertions from both Elon Musk’s DOGE and Trump himself.

Meanwhile, Trump also pointed to similar funds being used for political landscape in Bangladesh and biodiversity projects in Nepal.

Speaking at the Republican Governors Association (RGA) meeting, Trump remarked, “And USD 21 million for voter turnout in India. Why are we caring about India turnout? We got enough problems. We want our own turnout, don’t we? Can you imagine all that money going to India? I wonder what they think when they get it. Now, it’s a kickback scheme.”

“You know, it’s not like they get it and they spend, they kick it back to the people that send it. I would say in many cases, many of these cases, anytime you have no idea what we’re talking about, that means there’s a kickback because nobody has any idea what’s going on there. USD 29 million to strengthen the political landscape in Bangladesh. Nobody knows what they mean by political landscape. What does that mean?”, he further added.

BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari also raised the issue, calling for a probe to determine whether Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party were the “beneficiaries” of the alleged kickbacks.

BhandariTrump for the second time has said that – ’21 Million Dollar has gone to voter turnout in India’. Calls it a ‘Kick Back Scheme’. An investigation is must to find out if Rahul Gandhi & Congress ecosystem was beneficiary of this kickback scheme!” Bhandari posted on X.

The controversy intensified after the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) published a list of cancelled U.S. taxpayer-funded initiatives, which included a mention of $21 million earmarked for “voter turnout in India.” Led by Elon Musk, DOGE announced the cancellation of a $22 million funding initiative for “voter turnout in India” on February 16.

In a post on X, DOGE listed various cancelled expenditures, including “USD 21M for voter turnout in India.”

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On February 19, Trump once again raised concerns over the U.S. government’s allocation of funds for voter turnout efforts in India, drawing a parallel to anxieties about foreign interference in American elections.

“I have a lot of respect for India. I have a lot of respect for the prime minister. He just left, as you know, two days ago. But we’re giving USD 21 million for voter turnout. It’s voter turnout in India. What about, like, voter turnout here? Oh, we’ve done that, I guess. We did USD 500 million, didn’t we? It’s called the lockboxes,” Trump said.

(With inputs from agencies)