1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

I am writing to demand immediate congressional investigation into the reported diversion of $15 million in taxpayer funds from the now-defunct U.S. Agency for International Development to pay for Russell Vought's personal security detail. This misuse of public money represents a flagrant abuse of executive authority and a betrayal of the American people. According to documents reviewed by Reuters reporters Jonathan Landay and Douglas Gillison, the Office of Management and Budget signed an agreement with USAID on September 11 allocating $1.6 million from USAID's remaining operating expenses to cover Vought's security costs through November. An additional $13.5 million in USAID funds was budgeted for his security detail through the end of this year. These funds came from an agency that Congress created and continuously funded through acts of Congress, which the executive branch has no constitutional authority to unilaterally dismantle. The timing of this diversion is particularly egregious. USAID was the primary federal agency responsible for global health, disaster relief, and education. A professor from The Harvard School of Public Health estimated that dismantling the agency has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths from infectious diseases and malnutrition. While vulnerable people around the world suffer from the loss of critical aid programs, Vought maintains a security detail of more than a dozen U.S. Marshals funded with money appropriated by Congress for humanitarian purposes. This is not about legitimate security needs for public officials. This is about raiding the treasury to fund personal protection while claiming without evidence that USAID was corrupt. OMB spokesperson Rachel Cauley stated they will continue using available funds at the three agencies Vought oversees to protect him, suggesting this practice may extend beyond USAID. I urge you to launch an immediate investigation into this misappropriation of funds, demand full accounting of all diverted USAID money, and take legislative action to prevent future raids on congressionally appropriated funds. The American people deserve accountability.