DOGE Staffer Cut Funds for Rural Police Departments

More than $811 million in Justice Department grants for programs such as aid to crime victims and police were terminated by a member of DOGE, reports Reuters: 

One terminated grant, $8.3 million to the National Policing Institute, funded rural police departments and district attorneys’ offices, including many in regions where Trump has had strong support. It helped pay for automated license plate readers, violent crime investigators and programs to combat child sexual abuse, according to a list seen by Reuters.

Police Chief Justin Holliday of Lyons, Kansas, said his department just started using grant funds to pay for the new Rice County Child Advocacy Center, where the executive director conducted forensic interviews of child sex abuse victims.

Braeley Hammeke, that director, said Rice County has a population of about 10,000 and the center has received referrals for 28 kids since it opened in November.