Elon Musk, left, and Mississippi state auditor Shad White. (Reuters/IMAGN)
White remarked that if that kind of funding "abuse" could happen in a red state like the Magnolia State, it may only be the tip of the iceberg compared to more financially permissive blue states.
"Our audit shows that when you dig into how this money is actually being spent, it's not actually helping people with HIV/AIDS. It's not helping to test folks for HIV. It's instead just being wasted."
At the same time, the Trump administration’s National Institutes of Health has been under fire for similar cuts in its own DOGE efforts, with one CNN report citing a critic claiming "people will die."
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The network looked into changes made in a Health and Human Services database, and one source said they had been getting texts from concerned people.
Back in Jackson, White said the HIV/AIDS funding audit is only the latest in his office’s wide-ranging efforts to curb waste or fraud in terms of state taxpayer monies.
"DOGE has highlighted in particular how grants passed down from the federal government to state governments, and then to non-profits, are really a massive, massive fraud risk," he said.
"Our audit here proves that the craziest kind of stuff that you see at the federal level and the craziest stuff that may see in California or New York is happening in red states too. Every single state needs to be following President Trump's lead."
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/moge-audit-uncovers-nonprofits-incredibly-wasteful-spending-taxpayer-funds-state-official