President Trump issued a 90-day pause on all federal foreign aid in January, and the Supreme Court ruled in March that the Trump administration needed to release nearly $2 billion to cover humanitarian work already completed. North Carolina-based Samaritan’s Purse has now reported receiving $19 million from USAID funds for its work in Sudan.
Samaritan’s Purse President and CEO Franklin Graham has continued to be in favor of freezing these funds “to take a pause and to shake things up and hold people accountable.”
Following Supreme Court Ruling, Samaritan’s Purse Received $19M of USAID Funds for Work in Sudan
Hundreds of organizations were due reimbursement when the Trump administration pushed “pause” on all federal foreign aid funds through USAID. The government has shut down the agency and fired its employees. While the White House has said “90% of previous USAID funding will not be restored,” according to Baptist News, Samaritan’s Purse is one organization that has received $19 million in reimbursement for its work in Susan, South Sudan, and Congo.
Graham, a consistent supporter of Trump, has continually spoken in favor of freezing foreign aid funds. “I think it is good, because there has never really been a review of the policies and procedures and expenditures,” Graham told TIME in February. “To take a pause and to shake things up and hold people accountable, I think, is very good.”
But, he also has spoken out about concern that Trump might take it too far. “Because the staff at USAID was allowed to misappropriate billions of dollars, I think the pendulum is going to swing to a point where the baby may be thrown out with the bathwater. And that is tragic, but it’s because the culture of USAID got so far off track,” Graham told TIME.
Graham shared that Samaritan’s Purse had, at the time, $13 million in frozen reimbursements from USAID. “It’s not going to change the work that we do,” said Graham. “We have not discontinued the work that we were doing for them in Sudan because we may not get that $13 million they owe us.”
A ruling by the Supreme Court earlier this month forced the Trump administration to release nearly $2 billion for work already done in agreement with the government. Samaritan’s Purse reports that the ministry has received $19 million of USAID funds.
“The funding grants that Samaritan’s Purse has with USAID are reimbursement agreements,” said Graham in a statement to MinistryWatch. “We pay for the supplies and staff in advance and they reimburse us. We have just received reimbursement for $19 million to provide life-saving aid in Sudan.”
Mark Barber, who serves as media relations director for Samaritan’s Purse, explained the difference in figures between the reported $13 million owed and the $19 million received from USAID funds. Barber said “nearly a month” had passed since the ministry’s last report. “Samaritan’s Purse has continued to spend money as part of our funding agreements to provide emergency food and medicine,” said Barber.
Samaritan’s Purse expected to receive a federal exemption from the freeze as an entity with “existing life-saving humanitarian assistance programs.”
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Ministries and nonprofits could apply for an exemption. The reduction in USAID staff as well as an influx of applications created a backlog of requests.
