USAID TERROR: Testimony Reveals USAID Gave $122 Million to “Charities” with Terrorism Ties

The now-shuttered U.S. Agency for International Development has funneled at least $122 million in approved grants to terror-tied aid charities, including an evangelical Christian group that in 2014 facilitated a $125,000 sub-grant to a Sudanese terrorist organization linked to al-Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden. USAID has long been complicit in funding humanitarian aid groups associated with designated terrorists, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. This is just one egregious example of the waste, fraud, and abuse within USAID that the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency are working to uncover (National Review).

“Obama and Biden” – the party of treason.

“What the DOGE team has uncovered with USAID is shocking, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg,” (MTG)

USAID reportedly gave $122 million to groups aligned with foreign terrorist organizations.

We're not talking Cub Scout troops here. pic.twitter.com/nDuyZOlt3U

— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) February 7, 2025

🚨WOW: Gregg Roman, executive director of the @meforum, says USAID sent $122 million to terrorists and other bad actors through its foreign aid program. pic.twitter.com/1J8aG6TjG9

— Off The Press (@OffThePress1) February 26, 2025

BREAKING: New reporting from @nypost alleges USAID also bankrolled the education of infamous, Al Qaeda Terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki.

There's a REASON why @DOGE is auditing our federal agencies.

🔍$1.2B in awards to undisclosed recipients

🌍$520M for consultant-driven ESG… https://t.co/hAZGQeJZnE

— Congressman Byron Donalds (@RepDonaldsPress) February 11, 2025

Oversight Committee: At the Middle East Forum, we’ve uncovered evidence of $164 million in approved grants, $122 million of which ended up supporting radical or terror-tied organizations. That’s not pocket change; that’s a jackpot for the wrong crowd (Oversight Committee).

There’s a fox loose in the henhouse of our foreign aid system—a system intended to uplift lives abroad that instead has funneled millions of taxpayer dollars to radical and terrorist-linked organizations. If we don’t fix these fences now, we risk fueling violence against our allies, our troops, and potentially ourselves.

ADVERTISEMENT

‘Let me be clear: This is a problem that began under the Obama administration and was exacerbated under
the Biden administration. It’s a problem that has been brewing across both of these administrations — by
a bureaucracy so insulated it can’t always tell teachers from terrorists. The result is moral confusion
among grants officers who unwittingly, and in some cases may intentionally, bankroll extremist causes.
At the Middle East Forum, we’ve uncovered evidence of $164 million in approved grants, $122 million
of which ended up supporting radical or terror-tied organizations. That’s not pocket change; that’s a
jackpot for the wrong crowd.

Specific Findings

• World Vision: Over the past two decades, this major evangelical NGO has received nearly $2
billion from USAID. In 2014, World Vision facilitated a $125,000 sub-grant to the Islamic Relief
Agency—an entity linked to Osama bin Laden’s precursor to Al-Qaeda. Even after a
whistleblower raised red flags, USAID “rammed through” the funding, pressured by World
Vision, Sudanese warlords, and even U.S. officials who lobbied to delist the terror group.
• Helping Hand for Relief and Development: In 2023, it received a $78,000 grant from USAID
despite openly working with the terrorist who orchestrated the 2008 Mumbai Massacre. Worse,
this came after the USAID Inspector General had launched an investigation into a prior grant to
the same group.

CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY

• Jammal Trust Bank (Lebanon): USAID dollars helped pad the pockets of this financial
institution, later designated for financing Hezbollah. This was no mere oversight; it points to a
broken system that handed cash to a future terror-financing entity.

• Bayader and Unlimited Friends Association (UFA): Members of the Gazan charity Bayader
cozy up to senior Hamas figures like Abdul Salam Haniyeh, son of Ismail Haniyeh—credited as
one of the planners of the October 7 attacks on Israel. Meanwhile, UFA officials have called for
their lands to be “cleansed” from the “impurity of the Jews.”

• Masking the Money Trail: Billions of dollars in USAID grants are lumped under
“miscellaneous foreign awardees,” making it almost impossible for Congress, the media, or the
public to track who’s really getting the funds. A portion of this money has ended up in the hands
of Al Qaeda affiliates in Syria.

How does this happen? The oversight is as weak as a house of cards in a windstorm—like handing out
cash in a dark alley and hoping it doesn’t buy trouble. USAID’s vetting system is archaic, relying heavily
on self-reported data with no real-time checks or teeth. Primary grantees are entrusted to vet their own
subcontractors, even when those grantees themselves might sympathize with radical causes. In places like
Gaza or Sudan, groups with blatant extremist affiliations slip through because the “gatekeepers” have no
incentive—or even ideological desire—to shut them out. This isn’t a glitch; it’s a feature of a broken
system.

Funding groups aligned with Hamas, Lashkar-e-Taiba, or bin Laden affiliates is not just a colossal waste
of taxpayer money—it arms those who want to tear us down. We’re bankrolling bin Laden-linked
operatives in Sudan while our troops fight their networks. We’re padding Hezbollah’s pockets in
Lebanon. Every misdirected dollar destabilizes conflict zones and puts American lives at risk. This risk is
real, not hypothetical—our reporting has detailed how Iranian proxy militias and other extremist factions
exploit these funds to further violence.

ADVERTISEMENT

Here’s the kicker: it’s a problem caused by bureaucrats, but its now threatening American interests at
home and abroad—it’s a not just waste, fraud, and abuse, this is a national security problem. It goes
beyond who’s in the Oval Office. It’s a bureaucracy that has lost its way, staffed by grant officers who too
often can’t distinguish between a legitimate teacher and a terrorist recruiter. Meanwhile, powerful NGO
lobbies funded by the State Department—like InterAction—push disinformation to protect the status quo
and sabotage meaningful congressional oversight. We’re not talking about ending foreign aid; we’re
talking about saving it from a fatal moral confusion.

That’s why I’m urging you to hit the pause button on the US’s foreign aid budget. Give the Trump
administration the space to audit this chaos, root out the rot, and build a fence that keeps the fox out.
Humanitarian assistance can still flow through existing waivers for conflict zones, ensuring true
emergencies are addressed. But we can’t keep turning on the money spigot and hoping it doesn’t land in
extremist coffers.
Conclusion
So let’s not kick this can down the road or slap a band-aid on a broken leg. Let’s fix foreign aid once and
for all—because when it comes to national security and the trust of the American taxpayer, we can’t
afford to miss the mark. Thank you for your time, and I welcome your questions.

Continued….