Since returning to office, President Donald Trump’s administration has significantly altered U.S. foreign aid programs, labeling many established initiatives as misaligned with American interests and cutting their budgets. Despite these changes, billions of dollars allocated by Congress for foreign aid must still be spent, with lawmakers insisting on continued funding for humanitarian aid, global health, and pro-democracy efforts worldwide.

A recent investigation by ProPublica found that a lesser-known bureau within the State Department has undergone dramatic transformation under Trump. This bureau has considered funding groups including a British free-speech organization opposing bans on "gay conversion therapy" and a British-American think tank focused on "existential threats to Britain, to America, and to our shared Judeo-Christian civilisation." However, the administration dropped the grant for the latter after congressional pushback.

One notable proposal involved a $5 million grant intended to support people facing "deplatforming" and to advocate against "restrictive online safety and hate speech laws." This grant was later opened to a broader set of invited groups to apply for $1 million in funding, maintaining the same purpose, according to sources familiar with the process. The State Department declined to confirm whether the group Lex Libertas, associated with these efforts, would be invited to compete, citing ongoing deliberations. The department emphasized that the Trump administration has serious concerns about the human rights situation in South Africa that need addressing.

Over the past 18 months, President Trump has argued there is a genocide of white South Africans and has cited claims of disproportionate violence against white people to justify cutting off U.S. funding for HIV treatment and research in South Africa.

Additionally, the bureau recently released a call for proposals to fund research, conferences, and cultural engagements in wealthy democracies aimed at developing "civilizational self-confidence in Europe."

The founder of Lex Libertas stated the organization had "neither applied for nor been awarded a grant from the US State Department or any other branch of the US Government" but did not respond to further questions.

Sources