The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | January 29th, 2025: Trump Axes $50 Million For Condoms In Gaza & Ukraine Gets Major Delivery Of Patriot Missile Interceptors
Wed, 29 Jan 2025
In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: First, as they work to trim waste across government agencies, the Trump administration has pulled $50 million dollars in taxpayer funding allegedly earmarked by the Biden administration for condoms in Gaza. Then, following months of tense negotiations, the U.S. military is transferring 90 Patriot missile interceptors from storage in Israel to Ukraine, marking the single largest delivery of weapons from Jerusalem to Kyiv since Russia’s invasion nearly three years ago. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What happened to the $50 million earmarked for condoms in Gaza?
It's Wednesday, 29 January. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get ourselves briefed. First, as they work to trim waste across government agencies, the Trump administration has pulled $50 million in taxpayer funding allegedly earmarked by the previous administration for the distribution of condoms in Gaza.
This is clearly a story that needs investigating. Then, following months of tense negotiations, the U.S. military is transferring 90 Patriot missile interceptors from storage in Israel to Ukraine, marking the single largest delivery of weapons from Jerusalem to Kiev since Russia's invasion nearly three years ago. But first, our afternoon spotlight.
And I know based on the tease that you're keen to get to our afternoon spotlight. The Trump administration's decision to temporarily freeze foreign aid has drawn attention to a rather bizarre use of taxpayer funds. And that, of course, would be the condoms for the people of Gaza.
Chapter 2: What are the implications of the Trump administration's funding cuts?
K, the Trump White House claimed Tuesday that the Biden administration had earmarked tens of millions of dollars for a condom distribution program in the Gaza Strip, an expenditure that was reportedly discovered during a review by Elon Musk's new Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE.
At the first official White House press briefing of Trump's second term, Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt told reporters that Doge, "...found that there was about to be 50 million taxpayer dollars going out the door to fund condoms in Gaza."
She called it a, quote, preposterous waste of taxpayer money and an example of the kind of rampant excesses, well, that's true, that the Trump administration is trying to purge from U.S. foreign aid programs. Levitt added, quote, that's what this pause is focused on, being good stewards of tax dollars. Officials with the former Biden administration were quick to hit back at those allegations.
Andrew Miller, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs under Biden, told the Times of Israel that the White House's claims were a, quote, "...feverish dream." He claimed that while it was possible that $50 million was set aside for, quote, sexual health or something of that nature, it was not going towards condoms alone.
Ah, see, you have to really pay attention to what they say. So they did have a Johnny's for Gaza program, just maybe not totaling all $50 million. That, of course, would be called splitting hairs. The Trump administration has stood by their claim and said the planned spending has officially been axed.
It's worth noting, strange as it might sound, that the condom issue potentially has real-world consequences for the security of Israel. According to a report from Fox News, in 2020, militants in Gaza used scores of condoms to create IED-carrying balloons that were then floated into southern Israel. causing panic on schoolyards and farmlands and highways.
While it's not clear if the practice has continued, the incidents in 2020 reportedly burned thousands of hectares of land, causing millions in damages. As a reminder, over the weekend, Secretary of State Marco Rubio paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded through the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development for 90 days, following an executive order from President Trump.
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Chapter 3: What is the significance of the U.S. transferring Patriot missile interceptors to Ukraine?
Chapter 4: How did the Biden administration respond to the accusations regarding the condom funding?
She called it a, quote, preposterous waste of taxpayer money and an example of the kind of rampant excesses, well, that's true, that the Trump administration is trying to purge from U.S. foreign aid programs. Levitt added, quote, that's what this pause is focused on, being good stewards of tax dollars. Officials with the former Biden administration were quick to hit back at those allegations.
Andrew Miller, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs under Biden, told the Times of Israel that the White House's claims were a, quote, "...feverish dream." He claimed that while it was possible that $50 million was set aside for, quote, sexual health or something of that nature, it was not going towards condoms alone.
Ah, see, you have to really pay attention to what they say. So they did have a Johnny's for Gaza program, just maybe not totaling all $50 million. That, of course, would be called splitting hairs. The Trump administration has stood by their claim and said the planned spending has officially been axed.
It's worth noting, strange as it might sound, that the condom issue potentially has real-world consequences for the security of Israel. According to a report from Fox News, in 2020, militants in Gaza used scores of condoms to create IED-carrying balloons that were then floated into southern Israel. causing panic on schoolyards and farmlands and highways.
While it's not clear if the practice has continued, the incidents in 2020 reportedly burned thousands of hectares of land, causing millions in damages. As a reminder, over the weekend, Secretary of State Marco Rubio paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded through the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development for 90 days, following an executive order from President Trump.
The White House argued that the move was done to give the department time to review budgets and ensure that all taxpayer expenditures are aligned with the new White House administration's America First priorities. But the decision drew immediate outrage from Democrats, really, who said it would damage America's international standing and jeopardize critical aid programs.
The White House, countered by pointing to the planned spending on condoms in Gaza, hardly a vital interest for U.S. taxpayers. Notably, Rubio did exempt emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt from the freeze, as the funds are critical to maintaining the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
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Chapter 5: What are the consequences of the Trump administration's pause on foreign aid?
A State Department spokesperson said, "...President Trump stated clearly that the U.S. is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people." Reviewing and realigning foreign assistance on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not just the right thing to do, it's a moral imperative." Coming up, following months of tense negotiations, the U.S.
military is transferring 90 Patriot missile interceptors from storage in Israel to Ukraine. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let's talk about trees, shall we? And plants. Oh, and don't forget shrubs. Now, did you know that Fast Growing Trees is the biggest online nursery in the U.S.? It's true. With thousands of different plants and over, get this, 2 million happy customers.
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Chapter 6: What was the rationale behind the Trump administration's reassessment of foreign assistance?
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Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. The US military has transferred roughly 90 Patriot air defense missile interceptors from storage in Israel over to Poland this week. Now, the maneuver is aimed at bolstering Ukraine's aerial defense capabilities against Russia's missile barrages on critical infrastructure.
According to Axios, the American-made interceptors, integrated initially into Israel's air defense network during the Gulf War, had been phased out in April last year in favor of the country's more advanced Iron Dome and other advanced systems such as David's Sling. Ukraine, facing a shortage of Patriot missiles, pushed Washington to repurpose the decommissioned interceptors.
Negotiations over their fate began last year between the US, Israel, and Kyiv, but the process was mired in diplomatic hesitation. Israeli officials wary of provoking Russia. Well, stalled for months. Moscow maintains a military presence in Syria, at least for now, and has the capacity to escalate arms supplies to Iran, which, of course, backs terror groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
With Israel already engaged in a two-front war in Gaza and Lebanon, Netanyahu's government was reluctant to take any steps that could invite Russian retaliation. According to Ukrainian officials, frustration in Kyiv mounted as Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly ignored President Zelensky's calls on the matter for weeks.
Instead, Netanyahu sought to discuss a separate issue, that would be allowing ultra-Orthodox Israelis to travel to the Ukrainian city of Oman for a religious pilgrimage. Zelensky, in turn, refused to engage on that request until the Patriot deal was approved. Ultimately, in late September, Netanyahu signed off on the transfer. Israel, however, denies any connection between the two issues.
Now, to sidestep direct involvement in arming Ukraine, the Israeli government framed the move as merely, quote, "...returning the Patriots to the U.S." An Israeli official emphasized that Moscow had been notified beforehand, echoing the approach taken when the U.S. transferred emergency artillery shells from Israeli stockpiles to Ukraine back in 2022. In recent days, U.S.
Air Force C-17 transport planes touched down at an air base in southern Israel, loaded the interceptors, and ferried them to a key logistical hub for delivering Western military aid to Ukraine in Poland. Additional components, such as radars and other critical systems, will first be sent to the U.S. for refurbishment before a potential deployment to Kyiv.
This latest transfer underscores the Pentagon's urgency in reinforcing Ukraine's air defenses as Russian missile barrages intensify. The newly supplied interceptors will integrate with Ukraine's existing Patriot batteries, boosting Kyiv's capacity to counter waves of aerial attacks. However, while this shipment provides a short-term boost, Ukraine's long-term security remains uncertain.
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