Labor Department Cancels $577 Million in Useless Grants, Including ‘Gender Equity in the Mexican Workplace’

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has canceled nearly $600 million in grants to foreign countries in another round of major funding cuts, including $10 million for “gender equity in the Mexican workplace.”

John Clark, a DOL official appointed by President Donald Trump, directed the department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) to axe all 69 of its active grant programs on Wednesday due to a “lack of alignment with agency priorities and national interest,” according to an email obtained by the Washington Post.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) revealed some of the $577 million in canceled “America Last” projects to be $12.2 million for “worker empowerment in South America” and $6.25 million for “improving respect for workers’ rights in agricultural supply chains” in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador:

Other DOL-funded grants included $5 million for “elevating women’s participation in the workplace” in West Africa, $4.3 million for “assisting foreign migrant workers” in Malaysia, $3 million to “enhance social security access and worker protections for internal migrant workers” in Bangladesh, and $3 million for “safe and inclusive work environments” in Lesotho. 

The Elon Musk-led department also praised the work by Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling for securing $237 million in savings. 

The latest funding slash comes just a week after Chavez-DeRemer made her first major round of cuts, saving $33 million by canceling projects including a $1.5 million grant to enhance transparency and accountability in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry. 

Chavez-DeRemer was sworn in as Labor Secretary on March 11 after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate on a bipartisan vote of 67-32.