Trump administration shifts funds from human rights to supporting far-right causes

Sam Corum/Sipa USA/AP

The US State Department directed millions of dollars originally earmarked to promote human rights to promote far-right causes including Afrikaner rights in South Africa, safeguarding “Western civilizational norms,” and documenting “backsliding” in Europe related to mass migration, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

The funds, which come from the nearly $177 million in Democracy Funds, were obligated despite concerns and holds by the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the source said. They were due to lapse on Wednesday, the last day of the fiscal year.

The proposed causes align with the Trump administration’s broader shifts away from traditional human rights to focus on causes like alleged free-speech suppression and mass migration in Europe as well as “natural rights.” Two of the proposed grants are focused Brazil and South Africa – countries where the administration has clashed with the governments – and a third is focused on Nigeria, where the administration has alleged “mass slaughter” of Christians.

It marks another instance of the administration bypassing Congress on funding matters, following its move to cancel $810 million of funding that has been appropriated by Congress for refugees, immigrants and other services.

Typically, the money from the Democracy Funds is used to support programs in authoritarian countries or those with limited democracies, the source said. Instead, the proposed grants, which were first reported by The Guardian, include funding for programs in Europe and the United Kingdom.

Asked about the funds, an unnamed State Department spokesperson said they had completed congressional notification requirements.

“The President promised to combat the destructive woke agenda that has done so much damage to our country and to the world,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said. “We will never apologize for defending Western civilization, opposing censorship, ending the era of mass migration, and taking action against government-sponsored race-based discrimination in South Africa.”

According to the source familiar with the matter, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had signed off on a memo to obligate the funds despite the ongoing holds. Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Sen. Jeanne Shaheen had put holds on 10 proposed awards worth a total of $22 million.

The grants have buy-in from the highest levels of the White House, including Vice President JD Vance, the source said. The White House referred to the State Department for comment.

“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,” Shaheen in a statement.

“In bypassing Congress, the Trump Administration is now using taxpayer funds to promote far-right organizations and programs in established democracies,” the New Hampshire Democrat said. “This is a waste of resources and undermines American values and our relationships with democratic partners, including allies in Europe.”

The proposed grants that had holds include one to combat alleged judicial overreach and censorship in Brazil. The Trump administration has clashed with the Lula government and had imposed sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally. The sanctions were lifted in December. However, the US has also revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to the US and President Donald Trump has met with Flávio Bolsonaro, Jair Bolsonaro’s son who is running for president in Brazil.

Other proposed grants focus on Europe, including a $5 million award to support the development of “a civilizational alliance in Europe through research, public debates, and policy reform to safeguard freedom of expression, political competition, and national sovereignty.”

Top administration officials, including Vance, have lambasted European nations over allegations of free speech backsliding while also meeting with far-right European political figures.

Samuel Samson, a top appointee in the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, argued last year for the need for “civilizational allies” in Europe.

“Our hope is that both Europe and the United States can recommit to our Western heritage, and that European nations will end the weaponization of government against those seeking to defend it,” he wrote .

The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor has undergone significant changes under the second Trump administration.

As CNN reported last year , the US State Department will require its diplomats describe enforcement of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, alleged facilitation of mass migration, and government funding that supports abortion medications as “human rights infringements” in its next human rights report. The report will also shift focus to “natural rights” like freedom of speech, an official said at the time, in a move likely to target traditional European allies for alleged freedom of speech restrictions.

Sam Corum/Sipa USA/AP

一位知情人士告诉 CNN，美国国务院挪用了原本用于促进人权的数百万美元，用于推动极右翼事业，包括南非的阿非利卡人权利、维护“西方文明规范”以及记录欧洲与大规模移民相关的“倒退”。

消息人士称，尽管参议院外交关系委员会首席民主党议员表示担忧并提出反对，但这些资金（来自近1.77亿美元的民主基金）仍然被拨付。这些资金原定于周三到期，而周三正是本财年的最后一天。

这些拟议的援助项目与特朗普政府的政策转变相符，即不再关注传统人权，而是将重点放在欧洲所谓的言论自由压制、大规模移民以及“自然权利”等问题上。其中两项拟议拨款针对巴西和南非——这两个国家都曾与特朗普政府发生冲突——第三项拨款则针对尼日利亚，特朗普政府指控该国存在针对基督徒的“大规模屠杀”。

这是本届政府在拨款问题上再次绕过国会的又一例证。此前，该政府取消了国会拨款的 8.1 亿美元，这笔资金用于难民、移民和其他服务。

消息人士称，通常情况下，民主基金的资金用于支持威权国家或民主程度有限的国家的项目。然而，据《卫报》率先报道，此次拟议的拨款计划却包括资助欧洲和英国的项目。

当被问及资金情况时，一位不愿透露姓名的国务院发言人表示，他们已完成向国会提交通知的要求。

“总统承诺要打击破坏性的觉醒议程，这种议程已经给我们的国家和世界造成了巨大的损害，”国务院发言人汤米·皮戈特说。“我们永远不会为捍卫西方文明、反对审查制度、结束大规模移民时代以及采取行动反对南非政府支持的种族歧视而道歉。”

据知情人士透露，尽管资金仍被冻结，国务卿马可·卢比奥还是签署了一份备忘录，承诺拨付这笔款项。此前，参议院外交关系委员会资深成员珍妮·沙欣参议员已暂停了总额达2200万美元的10项拟议拨款。

消息人士称，这些拨款得到了白宫高层的支持，包括副总统万斯。白宫方面表示，有关置评事宜请咨询国务院。

沙欣在一份声明中表示：“国会以两党合作的方式拨款设立民主基金，旨在支持人权捍卫者，帮助人权侵犯的受害者，并促进国外民主的发展。”

这位来自新罕布什尔州的民主党议员表示：“特朗普政府绕过国会，现在正利用纳税人的钱在成熟的民主国家中扶持极右翼组织和项目。这不仅是对资源的浪费，也损害了美国的价值观以及我们与包括欧洲盟友在内的民主伙伴的关系。”

此前被搁置的拟议拨款中，包括一项旨在打击巴西司法越权和审查制度的拨款。特朗普政府与卢拉政府关系紧张，并对巴西最高法院大法官亚历山大·德·莫赖斯实施了制裁，莫赖斯曾主持审理巴西前总统雅伊尔·博索纳罗的案件，而博索纳罗是特朗普的盟友。这些制裁已于去年12月解除。然而，美国也吊销了巴西驻美大使的签证，并且特朗普总统会见了雅伊尔·博索纳罗的儿子弗拉维奥·博索纳罗，后者正在竞选巴西总统。

其他拟议的拨款重点关注欧洲，其中包括一项 500 万美元的奖励，旨在通过研究、公共辩论和政策改革，支持“在欧洲建立文明联盟，以保障言论自由、政治竞争和国家主权”。

包括万斯在内的高级政府官员猛烈抨击欧洲国家，指责其言论自由倒退，同时还与欧洲极右翼政治人物会面。

美国国务院民主、人权和劳工事务局高级官员塞缪尔·桑森去年曾力主欧洲需要“文明盟友”。

他写道：“我们希望欧洲和美国都能重新致力于我们的西方传统，并希望欧洲各国能够停止将政府武器化，以对抗那些寻求捍卫政府的人。”

在特朗普第二届政府执政期间，民主、人权和劳工事务局发生了重大变化。

正如美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）去年报道的那样，美国国务院将要求其外交官在下一份人权报告中，将多元化、公平和包容（DEI）政策的执行、涉嫌协助大规模移民以及政府资助堕胎药物等行为描述为“侵犯人权”。一位官员当时表示，该报告还将把重点转向言论自由等“自然权利”，此举很可能是针对其传统欧洲盟友涉嫌限制言论自由的行为。