Trump administration diverts human rights funds to push far-right agenda abroad

Support such as for white Afrikaners and anti-communism reveals how US is redefining what qualifies as human rights With hours left before the funding expires, the Trump administration is pushing to direct more than $175m of the state department’s flagship human rights fund to a slate of awards that includes a huge $40m grant for an anti-communism fund, support for a group advancing white Afrikaner rights in South Africa, a campaign against Brazil’s supreme court and programs that would reward ideological allies in Europe who protect “western civilizational norms”. On Wednesday, the state department obligated the funds to the grantees hours before the deadline despite congressional concerns and requests not to do so, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The state department declined to comment on questions from the Guardian specifically on whether it had obligated the funds and had “blown” holds from Congress due to concerns about the money’s use. Critics have focused on 43 awards of a combined $176.9m that will bolster rightwing and conservative causes around the world while probably angering US allies over interference in internal politics. The Guardian has seen a sample of the controversial grants, which make up most of the $205m in funding that Congress has appropriated for the entire Human Rights and Democracy Fund (HRDF). Sources with knowledge of the grant process have told the Guardian that the awards were personally lobbied for by members of the Trump administration, and reflect interests that include JD Vance’s warnings of the collapse of traditional western values in Europe and Stephen Miller’s push against immigration and to support white minorities in countries like South Africa . “The story for me is the high-level – including White House-directed – attention on these programs,” said a person familiar with the discussions over the democracy awards.

“These awards have been briefed at the highest levels of the department and have buy-in from the White House.” The proposed awards represent a significant shift in US support for dissidents, human rights defenders and civil society groups under authoritarian governments. The new slate includes projects in wealthy nations, and those focused on opposition to regulation, Brexit, immigration, anti-communism, Christian protection and opposition to “gender ideology”, offering a window into how the Trump administration is redefining what qualifies as human rights and merits tens of millions of dollars in US foreign assistance. “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,” said Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the US Senate committee on foreign relations. “The Trump administration’s proposals would use taxpayer funds to promote far-right organizations and programs in established democracies. This is a waste of resources and undermines United States values and relations with democratic partners, including allies in Europe.” A Democratic congressional aide said Shaheen had maintained 10 holds on $22m of awards focusing on Brazil , South Africa, Nigeria, and the promotion of a rightwing ideology in the United Kingdom and in Europe. According to the aide, secretary of state Marco Rubio had personally signed a memo to disregard the holds and obligate the funds. The largest award, of $40m, was directed to a consortium led by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC), an anti-communist non-profit that has received far smaller grants in the past.

A state department vetting document seen by the Guardian records $96,997 in previous contracts in the last five years between the foundation and the department, all in the 2022 fiscal year, and notes that it had been vetted in 2019 in connection with tickets to the foundation’s gala. The vetting document also identifies Andrew Bremberg, a former Trump White House domestic policy adviser and US ambassador to the UN European office, as a “senior leader” of the foundation. In July, Pro Publica reported that Samuel Samson, a 27-year-old deputy assistant secretary overseeing the new grants, was linked to senior members of VOC through his studies at the Christian conservative Hillsdale College graduate program. (A state department official then told the outlet that the relationship had nothing to do with the grant). Samson has described the US and Europe as partners in a shared civilizational struggle. Samson toured Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia last December – all countries that were floated to receive a $2m grant to counter migration weaponized by Russia and Belarus – and criticized NGOs that previous administrations had worked with for promoting what he called radical concepts, including gender theory and DEI. The state department did not comment on individual grants but said the programs were still in “active deliberation”, that awardees would meet guidelines for federal grants, and that all programming would undergo a “standard and rigorous vetting process by grant professionals”.

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