The State Department directed millions of dollars meant to promote human rights toward causes including Afrikaner rights in South Africa, safeguarding “Western civilizational norms” and documenting “backsliding” in Europe tied to mass migration, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The money came from nearly $177 million in Democracy Funds. Secretary of State Marco Rubio obligated it over objections from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s top Democrat.
The clock mattered. The funds were due to lapse Wednesday, the last day of the fiscal year.
Money Moved Over Congressional Holds
Rubio signed a memo obligating the funds despite ongoing holds, the source said. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the committee’s ranking member, had placed holds on 10 proposed awards totaling $22 million. The grants had support from the White House’s highest levels, including Vice President JD Vance, according to the source. The White House referred questions to the State Department.
Shaheen said Congress set the money aside for a specific purpose. “Congress appropriated money for the Democracy Fund on a bipartisan basis to support defenders of human rights, to assist victims of human rights violations and to instead promote the growth of democracy abroad,” she said. She added: “In bypassing Congress, the Trump Administration is now using taxpayer funds to promote far-right organizations and programs in established democracies. This is a waste of resources and undermines American values and our relationships with democratic partners, including allies in Europe.”
An unnamed State Department spokesperson said the department had completed congressional notification requirements.
Where the Priorities Are Shifting
Democracy Fund money typically supports programs in authoritarian countries or countries with limited democracies, the source said. The proposed grants, however, include programs in Europe and the United Kingdom. Two focus on Brazil and South Africa, where the administration has clashed with the governments. A third focuses on Nigeria, where the administration has alleged “mass slaughter” of Christians.
One grant under a hold would combat alleged judicial overreach and censorship in Brazil. The administration has clashed with the Lula government and imposed sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally. The sanctions were lifted in December. The United States also revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to the U.S., and President Donald Trump met with Flávio Bolsonaro, Jair Bolsonaro’s son, who is running for president in Brazil.
Another proposed award, for $5 million, would support “a civilizational alliance in Europe through research, public debates, and policy reform to safeguard freedom of expression, political competition, and national sovereignty.” Senior administration officials, including Vance, have criticized European nations over alleged free-speech backsliding and met with far-right European political figures.
Samuel Samson, a top appointee in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, argued last year for “civilizational allies” in Europe. “Our hope is that both Europe and the United States can recommit to our Western heritage, and that European nations will end the weaponization of government against those seeking to defend it,” he wrote.
The Administration’s Defense
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott defended the approach. “The President promised to combat the destructive woke agenda that has done so much damage to our country and to the world,” he said. “We will never apologize for defending Western civilization, opposing censorship, ending the era of mass migration, and taking action against government-sponsored race-based discrimination in South Africa.”
The Democracy Fund move follows the administration’s decision to cancel $810 million appropriated by Congress for refugees, immigrants and other services. The Guardian first reported the proposed grants.
The human rights bureau has changed significantly under the second Trump administration. CNN previously reported that diplomats would have to describe enforcement of diversity, equity and inclusion policies, alleged facilitation of mass migration, and government funding that supports abortion medications as “human rights infringements” in the next human rights report. An official said at the time that the report would also shift focus to “natural rights” such as freedom of speech, in a move likely to target traditional European allies over alleged speech restrictions.
Why This Matters: Congress sets spending priorities, and Shaheen says lawmakers from both parties intended this money for defenders of human rights and victims of abuses. Instead, the funds are flowing to programs in Europe and the United Kingdom, while the administration has also canceled $810 million appropriated for refugees, immigrants and other services. The people those dollars were designed to reach, in authoritarian and limited democracies, now have fewer resources behind them. There’s an accountability question too. Funds went out despite holds from the committee’s top Democrat, and critics like Shaheen argue that this weakens congressional oversight and strains ties with democratic allies in Europe.