U.S. Congressman Scott Perry has claimed that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided funding to terrorist groups, including Boko Haram.
Perry, a Republican from Pennsylvania, made this allegation during the first meeting of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency on Thursday, according to PUNCH.
“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,” Perry said.
Perry also said that USAID had reported a $136 million allocation for the establishment of 120 schools in Pakistan, claiming that there was “no evidence” that the schools were actually built.
“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.
President Donald Trump has previously advocated for the dissolution of USAID, accusing the agency of corruption in a post on his Truth Social platform. Elon Musk, whom Trump appointed to head the Department of Government Efficiency, has also voiced criticism of USAID, alleging that it conducts rogue activities.
Musk has described USAID as “a viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who despise America” and has promised to close it down.
Among his other accusations, Musk has suggested that USAID engages in “rogue CIA work” and has even “funded bioweapon research, including COVID-19, which resulted in the deaths of millions.”
Trump stated that DOGE would “dismantle government bureaucracy, reduce excessive regulations, eliminate wasteful spending, and reorganise federal agencies — crucial to the ‘Save America’ initiative. This will create significant disruptions within the system, affecting many who are tied to government waste!”
