Joe Rogan on usaid: what the evidence says · JRE #2281
SUBJECT: USAID
The short answer
Rogan claims that USAID spending, once you look past the name, turns out to be about $250 million for transgender animal studies. The dollar figure traces to a real advocacy estimate, but fact-checkers found that spending is not USAID funding. The ~$250 million figure originates from the advocacy group White Coat Waste Project, which in Feb 2025 claimed the federal government had spent 'a quarter-billion & counting' on transgender-related animal research.
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
And then you find out, actually, it's like $250 million for transgender animal studies.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
The ~$250 million figure originates from the advocacy group White Coat Waste Project, which in Feb 2025 claimed the federal government had spent 'a quarter-billion & counting' on transgender-related animal research. Fact-checkers (Snopes, Al Jazeera) found this spending is attributed to NIH, HHS, and USDA grants for hormone-therapy research using animal models, not to USAID. No credible fact-check source ties this figure to USAID funding, so the claim as stated misattributes the spending to the wrong federal agency.