Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) stressed that the U.S. Agency for International Development needs to provide “a hand up, not a handout” if the Department of Government Efficiency is going to prevent future waste.

The Trump administration and DOGE have sought to eliminate wasteful spending across the government, with USAID being one of the first targets of this effort. Ernst, founder of the Senate DOGE Caucus, has attempted to spotlight the agency’s waste in the past, some of which she assessed stems from USAID programs that will not end even after they accomplish their purpose, which calls for “sunset provisions” to these programs.

“If there is a reason to start something, great, it’s a hand up, not a handout,” Ernst said on Fox News’s Fox & Friends. “So once we see results, then you end a program. But if there are no good results, the program’s not working, you should get rid of it as well, so find a different way to help people.”

Ernst reflected on how she and USAID had “gone through the wringer” several years back when she sought to expose the agency’s wasteful spending, but she said this has now been “fleshed out.” She then credited DOGE head Elon Musk for spotlighting USAID’s “ugly expenditures.”

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Amid her work with DOGE, the Iowa senator told the Washington Examiner that she is introducing a bill with Rep. Brad Finstad (R-MN) that will reform the regulatory process, titled the Prove It Act of 2025. The bill would require federal agencies to demonstrate how any new regulation aligns with existing laws and also considers the direct and indirect effects on small businesses.

The Trump administration touted the “long list of crap” that it will be cutting from USAID, including $6 million to fund tourism in Egypt, $1.1 million to an Armenian LGBT group, and $2.5 million to promote “inclusion” in Vietnam. Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) told the Washington Examiner the agency is “rotten to the core” amid the scrutiny it has received.