White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House press briefing Tuesday that the administration had just stopped millions in taxpayer dollars from paying for condoms for those in Gaza.
Leavitt said the finding came as a result of the pause in federal funding for a range of federal efforts, including foreign aid payments, so they can be reviewed.
That pause has sparked pushback and criticism for the Trump administration as many federal efforts ground to a halt. Leavitt, however, pointed to the Gaza condoms as proof of the necessity of the pause.
“DOGE and OMB also found that there was about to be $50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza,” Leavitt said. “That is a preposterous waste of taxpayer money.”
It is unclear if the entire $50 million was for condoms, which would be an incredible sum for a population of that size, or if the condoms were just part of a $50 million spending plan. According to media reports, Hamas militants used condoms as balloons and have tied explosives to them in previous attacks.
Leavitt said they also stopped $37 million that was about to be sent to the World Health Organization. Trump signed an executive order last week to pull the U.S. out of WHO.
“So that is what this pause is focused on, being good stewards of tax dollars,” she added.
Elon Musk, who now heads DOGE, wrote on X that the finding was just the “tip of [the] iceberg.”
