Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, accused the Biden administration of financially supporting the Hamas militants.
Cruz took to social media Thursday to share a Daily Caller story that said more than $1.3 billion in taxpayer funds under former President Joe Biden aided groups that sponsored or committed terrorism.
"USAID secretly poured uncountable hundreds of millions of dollars toward Hamas, including tens of millions of cash they could never account for. Throughout the Biden admin, they knew the money they were pouring into Gaza would benefit Hamas. They did it anyway," Cruz posted on X.
The Trump administration and Elon Musk, who's heading President Donald Trump's advisory Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have targeted USAID hardest so far in an unprecedented challenge of the federal government and many of its programs.
The White House on Monday issued a release entitled "At USAID, Waste and Abuse Runs Deep." It listed "pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats" that included millions of dollars to EcoHealth Alliance, which was involved in research at the Chinese Wuhan lab — from where coronavirus likely leaked — and hundreds of millions of dollars to fund "irrigation canals, farming equipment, and even fertilizer used to support the unprecedented poppy cultivation and heroin production in Afghanistan," benefiting the Taliban.
The Daily Caller reported that federal watchdog reports and other documents show Biden’s aid programs funneled the money toward a network of terrorism in the Muslim world. National security experts told the outlet the Trump administration must act to stop the flow.
"We should not be putting money into any country or areas where a terrorist group remains in control," said Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
"Aid, like money, is fungible," he added. "It winds up propping up these groups. It allows them to use … whatever money they have to invest into their terrorist activities."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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