U.S. Congressman Scott Perry has alleged that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been involved in funding terrorist organizations, including Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS.
Perry, a Republican representative from Pennsylvania, made these claims during a congressional hearing on government spending and financial mismanagement.
The hearing, titled “The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud,” focused on taxpayer money allegedly being misused by U.S. agencies. Perry accused USAID of channeling millions of dollars into terrorist-linked groups and questioned the oversight of government funds.
“Who gets some of that money? Does that name ring a bell to anybody in the room? Because your money, your money, $697 million annually, plus the shipments of cash funds in Madrasas, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS Khorasan, terrorist training camps. That’s what it’s funding,” Perry said.
He also pointed to reports that USAID allocated $136 million to build 120 schools in Pakistan but claimed there was “zero evidence” that any of the schools were actually constructed.
Perry criticized U.S. financial aid programs, arguing that some of the money intended to support women’s education in Afghanistan was likely being misused.
Perry added, ” If you think that the programme under Operation Enduring Sentinel entitled Women’s Scholarship Endowment, which receives $60 million annually, or the Young Women Lead, which gets about $5 million annually, is going to women who, by the way, if you read the Inspector General’s report, is telling you that the Taliban does not allow women to speak in public, yet somehow you’re believing, and American people are supposed to believe, that this money is going for the betterment of the women in Afghanistan. It is not.
“You are funding terrorism, and it’s coming through USAID. And it’s not just Afghanistan, because Pakistan’s right next door.
“USAID spent $840 million in the last year, the last 20 years, on Pakistan’s education-related programme. It includes $136 million to build 120 schools, of which there is zero evidence that any of them were built. Why would there be any evidence? The Inspector General can’t get in to see them.
“But you know what? We doubled down and spent $20 million from USAID to create educational television programs for children unable to attend the physical school. Yeah, they can’t attend it, because it doesn’t exist. You paid for it.
“Somebody else got the money. You are paying for terrorism. This has got to end.”
Elon Musk, whom Trump appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, has also condemned USAID, alleging that it operates without proper oversight. Musk has claimed that the agency engages in unauthorized intelligence activities and misuses taxpayer funds.
Trump has pledged that his administration, if re-elected, will work to reduce government waste and restructure federal agencies, including USAID.
