While criticizing President Joe Biden’s economic policies at two Iowa events this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly dinged the federal government for “promoting transgenderism in Bangladesh,” arguing that it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars.
“I think the president should get a line-item veto,” DeSantis said Tuesday night at a Fox News town hall with Iowa voters. “If they put a big spending bill on your desk, you can hack out, veto, individual spending items. They’re spending your money now to promote things like transgenderism in Bangladesh. Is that really a good use of your tax dollars?”
This line regularly comes up at DeSantis’ campaign events. And DeSantis did tell the town hall that he believes “both parties” are overspending taxpayer money. But he brought up Bangladesh while dinging Biden for inflation.
Facts First: The program DeSantis is talking about, which promoted the civil rights of LGBT Bangladeshis, was launched during the Trump administration and cost about $850,000, a sliver of the $30 billion budget of the agency it came from.
In the final weeks before the Iowa caucuses, DeSantis seized on transgender issues to appeal to evangelical and conservatives in the state. He has touted the fact that he signed laws in Florida prohibiting gender-affirming treatment for minors, restricting which bathrooms transgender people can use, and even cracked down on drag shows.
In response to a CNN inquiry, the DeSantis campaign pointed to a fact sheet and a press release from the US Agency for International Development, known as USAID.
Those materials touted how USAID worked with Bangladeshi civil society groups to prod the government to include its “Hijra” community in the 2021 census. Hijra is a South Asian term that refers to transgender people, and has roots in ancient religious practices in the region. Bangladesh and nearby India recognize hijra as a third gender.
The specific USAID program involved in these efforts was launched in June 2018 and ended in June 2021. This means it began under former President Donald Trump.
USAID records indicate that the program cost $849,535 over the three years. In the 2021 fiscal year, when it ended, USAID spent almost $30 billion, according to the agency. That means the pro-LGBT program in Bangladesh was less than 0.003% of the agency’s spending for that year.
There is at least one additional USAID program supporting LGBT rights in Bangladesh, which was launched last year. In response to CNN’s inquiries, USAID spokespeople wouldn’t provide a figure for the cost of the program, which is set to run for five years.
