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Most Americans believe US foreign aid linked to corruption — poll

Only 12% of respondents disagreed with this statement

LONDON, February 17. /TASS/. The majority of Americans believe that US foreign aid "goes to corruption," a poll conducted by the Public First consulting firm revealed.

The survey, conducted for The Financial Times newspaper, showed that nearly 60% of respondents think humanitarian funds to be "spent on corruption or administrative fees." Only 12% of respondents disagreed with this statement.

In this regard, voters "align with the opinions of US President Donald Trump and entrepreneur Elon Musk," who currently heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), on the operations of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), The Financial Times reported.

In early February, Trump described USAID’s operations as dishonest and corrupt. Earlier, Reuters wrote that the US administration plans to slash USAID staff by more than 30 times — from the current 10,000 to just 294. On February 3, Washington suspended USAID’s activities. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was appointed interim head of the agency and began reviewing its operations. Musk, who now leads DOGE, proposed the findings regarding USAID, focusing on improving government operations and tackling bureaucracy.