House Democrats on Wednesday called for the resignation of USAID political appointee Merritt Corrigan, who has a history of anti-immigration and anti-LGBTQ comments.
Corrigan, lawmakers wrote to USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa, has a "record of public remarks, including disparaging LGBTQ people and those who express support for them, women in positions of leadership, and immigrants, is appalling, and has no place in a federal agency."
Merritt made the comments in tweets in 2019 and 2020.
In one post, Corrigan wrote: “Liberal democracy is little more than a front for the war being waged against us by those who fundamentally despise not only our way of life, but life itself.”
She also said the country is in the clutches of a “homo-empire” that pushes a “tyrannical LGBT agenda.”
The lawmakers said they were "left wondering how Ms. Corrigan is able to effectively serve an agency whose principles are so clearly antithetical to her own” and ends by stating: "For the sake of USAID’s employees, the beneficiaries it supports around the world, and the core values of the agency, we urge you to immediately condemn this speech, and demand Ms. Corrigan’s resignation."
USAID spokesperson Pooja Jhunjhunwala told Axios on Wednesday: "AA Barsa received this letter on Monday, June 22. He will meet with the Employee Resource Group representatives and plans to continue the conversation on the issues mentioned."