A senior US official has acknowledged that President Donald Trump's closure of the US aid agency bore blame for the waste of nearly 500 tons of emergency food intended for hungry children.
Officials said the United States plans to incinerate the high-energy biscuits, intended as emergency food for malnourished young children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, after they passed their July expiration date in a warehouse in Dubai.
Under questioning by lawmakers, Michael Rigas, the deputy secretary of state in charge of management, tied the decision to the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development, which closed its doors on July 1.
"I think that this was just a casualty of the shutdown of USAID," Rigas said on Wednesday, adding that he was "distressed" that the food went to waste.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has slashed more than 80 percent of US foreign assistance, saying it does not meet core American interests, and put remaining USAID functions under the State Department.
The Atlantic magazine reported on Monday that the United States bought the biscuits near the end of Joe Biden's administration for around $800,000 and that US taxpayers will spend another $130,000 to destroy the food.
The devil in details
Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat, said lawmakers had specifically raised the issue of the food with Rubio in March.
"Sometimes the tiniest detail really exposes the soul," Kaine said.
"A government that is put on notice — here are resources that will save 27,000 starving kids, can you please distribute them or give them to someone who can?"
"Who decides, no, we would rather keep the warehouse locked, let the food expire, and then burn it?"
Rigas said that the United States remained the world's largest donor, and he promised to learn further details about the biscuits.
"I do want to find out what happened here and get to the ground truth," he said.
Rigas has also supervised hundreds of layoffs at the State Department as part of Trump's sweeping cost-cutting drive, first led by tycoon Elon Musk.
Demanding answers
US Representative Gregory Meeks demanded answers from Rubio over the dismantling of the agency.
"The wholly insufficient retention of USAID personnel both in Washington, DC, and at posts globally caused by your haphazard staffing plans poses a tremendous risk to both the Department and the United States," Meeks said in a letter to Rubio.
"Without sufficient personnel to provide oversight and enforce controls, foreign assistance programs are left vulnerable to mismanagement, waste, and increased liability," Meeks added.
He outlined his concerns that the agency's staffing cuts and personnel decisions fail to retain the talent and technical capacity needed to meet national security priorities and waste taxpayer dollars.
The lawmaker demanded that Rubio respond to the questions by July 25.
