A U.S. congressman, Scott Perry, has alleged that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided funding to terrorist organizations, including Boko Haram.
Perry, a Republican representing Pennsylvania, made this claim during the inaugural hearing of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency on Thursday.
The session, titled “The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud,” focused on the alleged misallocation of U.S. taxpayer funds.
“Who gets some of that money? Your money—$697 million annually—plus shipments of cash funds to Madrasas, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS-Khorasan, and terrorist training camps. That’s what it’s funding,” Perry claimed.
He further alleged that USAID spent $136 million on constructing 120 schools in Pakistan but provided “zero evidence” that any were actually built
Perry also questioned USAID’s funding for women’s empowerment programs in Afghanistan, arguing that the Taliban prohibits women from public participation.
“You are funding terrorism, and it’s coming through USAID. And it’s not just Afghanistan—Pakistan is right next door.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has previously called for the closure of USAID, accusing it of corruption. Billionaire Elon Musk, whom Trump appointed to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has also criticized USAID, describing it as a “viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists” and alleging that it engaged in rogue CIA operations.
Musk has vowed to shut down USAID, claiming it funded controversial programs, including bioweapon research.
Trump reaffirmed this stance, stating that DOGE would work to dismantle government bureaucracy, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies as part of his “Save America” movement.
The allegations have sparked debates in the U.S., with some lawmakers calling for a full audit of USAID spending, particularly in regions affected by terrorism.