Washington, DC -- Representatives Gregory W. Meeks and Gabe Amo, Ranking Member and Vice Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter to the USAID and the State Department Acting Inspectors General requesting information on their investigation of wasted food assistance funded by U.S. taxpayers. In the aftermath of the Trump administration’s elimination of USAID, public reporting found that, at the direction of the Trump administration, millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer funded food commodities were either left to spoil or discarded, though the administration has so far failed to provide details on the scale and circumstances of that waste despite Congressional requests to do so.

Text of the letter is below. A PDF copy of the letter is here.

Dear Acting Inspectors General Aldridge and Baker:

We have raised concerns to the Department of State that remain unaddressed about reports of the destruction of taxpayer-funded food assistance intended for vulnerable populations abroad. These reports raise serious concerns about the Department’s program oversight, supply chain integrity, safety of food distribution, and stewardship of taxpayer-funded humanitarian and development aid.

Publicly available accounts and preliminary reports suggest that Secretary Rubio and other State Department officials discarded or destroyed significant quantities of food aid—procured and distributed under USAID auspices—prior to reaching their intended recipients. The circumstances surrounding these incidents remain unclear, including whether the losses were due to spoilage, diversion, logistical failure, or external interference.

During his testimony before the Foreign Affairs Committee on May 21, 2025, Secretary Rubio, in response to a question about State Department’s delivery delays of bought ready-to-use therapeutic food (also known as RUTFs), said, “there was no State Department delays.” However, after that hearing, public reporting appeared that government officials allowed $800,000 worth of emergency food commodities to expire, causing its destruction, despite multiple warnings from concerned USAID staff. Regardless of cause, such incidents raise serious concerns surrounding the Executive Branch’s possible misuse of congressionally authorized funds, erode the credibility of U.S. foreign aid, and jeopardize our strategic humanitarian objectives.

As announced on May 29, the USAID Office of Inspector General, Inspections and Evaluations division is initiating a series of inspections of the USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) warehouses used to preposition food aid. We respectfully request a status update on those and any other related inspections currently being undertaken. As the Committee with oversight authority over foreign affairs and foreign assistance, we are committed to ensuring that U.S. aid programs operate with transparency, efficiency, and accountability. Therefore, we also request your offices review the following and would appreciate your response by December 5, 2025:

1. The total number, scope, and scale of incidents in which food commodities bought with Congressionally-appropriated foreign assistance have been destroyed at the direction of USAID or State Department officials since January 20, 2025.
2. The justifications for and contributing factors leading to such food aid destruction.
3. The decision-making processes used to direct and implement such food aid destruction and the degree to which such processes accounted for any internal objections or concerns raised.
4. The adequacy of the State Department’s internal controls, monitoring and evaluation systems, and partner oversight mechanisms with respect to the expenditure of humanitarian and development assistance.