New Delhi: Top Democratic members of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee have urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to clarify details of the $21 million assistance for “voter turnout in India,” stating that it has cast “unwarranted suspicion” on the development agency’s work and is jeopardising a key partnership with a strategic partner.
In a letter to Secretary Rubio, Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, stated that they expect answers “no later than March 21st, 2025.”
“Please explain the details surrounding the $21 million grant to India, including the dates of the grant, the contract information, the implementing partner, the proposed activities, and the dates of the activity. Please also provide any documentation, including the Congressional Notification number and the date the CN was submitted,” they demanded.
Ranking Members @RepGregoryMeeks & @RepKamlagerDove sent a letter to Rubio seeking clarity on Trump & DOGE’s claim, without evidence, that USAID spent “$21 million for voter turnout in India.” These assertions created a political firestorm in India. pic.twitter.com/9b9SQ0E7br
— House Foreign Affairs Committee Dems (@HouseForeign) March 13, 2025
Additionally, they sought details on the process by which “DOGE cancelled these programs, including the timeline of how the cancellation was communicated to relevant stakeholders and implementing partners.”
The lawmakers also noted that despite three separate requests from the Committee last month, the State Department had yet to respond.
A press release issued with the letter said that the assertions by Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) created a “political firestorm in India, and baselessly sowed distrust in the agency”.
The first mention of the $21 million aid to India appeared in a DOGE post on X (formerly Twitter) on February 15.
President Donald Trump repeatedly referenced the India aid in public speeches while outlining his administration’s efforts to cut government wastage. He even claimed the funds were used to “get somebody else elected,” a remark that India’s ruling BJP swiftly framed as proof of foreign interference aimed at unseating Modi in the general elections. In the 2024 parliamentary polls, the BJP retained power but fell short of a majority in the Lok Sabha.
The Opposition had called for an investigation into Trump’s allegations, even as it dismissed them as “typical nonsense” from the US president.
India’s first official response came on February 21, when MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government was aware of “information that has been put out by the US administration regarding certain USAID activities and funding.” Calling the allegations “very deeply troubling,” he said relevant departments and agencies were looking into the matter.
Later that same day, Trump escalated the controversy by directly linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the claim.
“…and $21 million going to my friend, Prime Minister Modi in India, for voter turnout. We’re giving 21 million for voter turnout in India. What about us? I want vote to turnout too, Governor,” he said.
The Congress demanded that the government investigate and clarify Trump’s claim linking the USAID fund to the Prime Minister.
The Democrats’ letter noted that USAID has a long history in India, “helping to establish institutions like the flagship Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, collaborating on public health initiatives, and advancing small-scale development innovations.”
“Allowing misinformation about U.S. foreign assistance to go unchallenged damages American credibility, undermines our ability to operate globally, and threatens relationships with key international counterparts. India is a key strategic partner, and sustaining this relationship requires skilled diplomacy,” the letter stated.
The Indian Express has earlier reported that the Trump’s claim about $21 million in USAID funding to India was incorrect, as the money was actually allocated for Bangladesh.
The Washington Post also published a report stating that it had “found no evidence that $21 million was due to be spent for voter turnout in India or for any other purpose.”
The report also noted that while there was no record of a CEPPS programme in India matching DOGE’s description, CEPPS did have a $21 million USAID contract for Bangladesh. “It seems that they are conflating numbers from other programmes,” said a US official to The Post.
