U.S. Congressman Scott Perry has made explosive allegations that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded terrorist organizations, including Boko Haram.
Perry, a Republican representing Pennsylvania, made the claims during the inaugural hearing of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency on Thursday.
The hearing, titled “The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud,” focused on alleged misappropriations of taxpayer funds.
Perry accused USAID of funneling money to terrorist groups, stating, “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.”
The subcommittee, according to its website, aims to “actively work with President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency to root out waste, shore up vulnerable payment systems, and fully investigate schemes to defraud taxpayers.”
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Perry further criticized USAID’s $136 million project to build 120 schools in Pakistan, claiming there was “zero evidence” that any schools were constructed. He said, “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.”
He also questioned USAID’s funding of programs in Afghanistan, such as the Women’s Scholarship Endowment and Young Women Lead, which receive $60 million and $5 million annually, respectively. Perry argued that these funds were unlikely to benefit women, citing Taliban restrictions on women’s public participation.
“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,” Perry stated.
The congressman also highlighted USAID’s $20 million expenditure on educational television programs for children in Pakistan, sarcastically noting, “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.”
These allegations align with previous criticisms from U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who have both called for the closure of USAID. Trump accused the agency of corruption in a post on his Truth Social platform, while Musk, appointed by Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, has labeled USAID “a viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America.”
Musk has also alleged that USAID engages in “rogue CIA work” and even funded bioweapon research, including COVID-19, which he claimed “killed millions of people.”
Trump has framed the push to dismantle USAID as part of his broader effort to reduce government waste and bureaucracy. He stated, “DOGE will dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excessive regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies — essential to the ‘Save America’ movement. This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people!”
The allegations have sparked controversy, raising questions about the accountability of U.S. foreign aid and its potential misuse. As the subcommittee continues its investigations, the future of USAID and its operations remains under intense scrutiny.
