In short
- The US State Department obligated $176.9m from the $205m Human Rights and Democracy Fund to 43 awards on 30 September 2026, hours before the fiscal-year deadline, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.
- The largest award, $40m, went to a consortium led by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
- Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the US Senate committee on foreign relations, maintained 10 holds on $22m of awards covering Brazil, South Africa and Nigeria, a Democratic congressional aide said.
- The aide said Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally signed a memo to disregard the holds and obligate the funds.
- Samuel Samson, a 27-year-old deputy assistant secretary, oversees the new grants.
The US State Department obligated $176.9m from its Human Rights and Democracy Fund to 43 awards on 30 September 2026, hours before the fiscal-year deadline, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The awards include a $40m grant to a consortium led by the anti-communist Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
What is the Human Rights and Democracy Fund?
Congress appropriated $205m for the Human Rights and Democracy Fund (HRDF) for the fiscal year that ended on 30 September 2026. Under the legislation authorising the fund, the money had to be assigned by that date, when unobligated funds typically lapse. The 43 awards account for $176.9m of the total.
Which grants are in the new slate?
The slate includes a $40m grant to a consortium led by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, support for a group advancing white Afrikaner rights in South Africa, a campaign against Brazil’s supreme court — whose justices recently clashed over a patron saint hoax — and programmes for ideological allies in Europe tied to protecting “western civilizational norms”. Other projects focus on opposition to regulation, Brexit, immigration, anti-communism, Christian protection and opposition to “gender ideology”. A $2m grant to counter migration weaponised by Russia and Belarus was floated for Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.
The slate marks a shift from previous US funding for dissidents, human rights defenders and civil society groups under authoritarian governments. In the region, Venezuela has freed political prisoners, according to the rights group Foro Penal.
Why did congressional Democrats object?
Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the US Senate committee on foreign relations, said the money had been appropriated “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”. She said the administration’s proposals “would use taxpayer funds to promote far-right organizations and programs in established democracies”. A Democratic congressional aide said Shaheen had maintained 10 holds on $22m of awards focusing on Brazil, South Africa and Nigeria and on promoting right-wing ideology in the United Kingdom and Europe, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally signed a memo to disregard the holds and obligate the funds.
Who runs the new grant programme?
Samuel Samson, a 27-year-old deputy assistant secretary overseeing the grants, has described the US and Europe as partners in a shared civilizational struggle. ProPublica reported in July that Samson was linked to senior members of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation through his studies at the Christian conservative Hillsdale College graduate programme; a State Department official told the outlet the relationship had nothing to do with the grant. A State Department vetting document names 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, which received $96,997 in department contracts in the 2022 fiscal year.
What has the State Department said?
The State Department did not comment on individual grants, saying the programmes were in “active deliberation” and that awardees would meet federal grant guidelines and undergo a “standard and rigorous vetting process by grant professionals”. It declined to say whether it had obligated the funds. An official said US programming in Europe aimed to help European allies defend “those rights and principles, along with their civilizational self-confidence”.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Human Rights and Democracy Fund?
It is a US State Department fund for which Congress appropriated $205m in the fiscal year ending 30 September 2026. Under the authorising legislation, the money had to be assigned by that date, when unobligated funds typically lapse.
How much went to the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation?
A $40m award went to a consortium led by the foundation, the largest single grant in the slate. A State Department vetting document records $96,997 in previous contracts between the foundation and the department in the 2022 fiscal year.
Why did congressional Democrats object to the awards?
Senator Jeanne Shaheen said the proposals would use taxpayer funds to promote far-right organisations and programmes in established democracies. A Democratic congressional aide said Shaheen maintained 10 holds on $22m of awards.
Did the State Department confirm the awards?
The State Department declined to comment on whether it had obligated the funds and said the programmes were still in “active deliberation”.
With reporting from The Guardian.
Stock image, not from the events described. City Skyline — Joe deSousa / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
