State Department pushes $175M into human rights grants. Then Marco Rubio allegedly signs a memo to ignore Congress and fund far-right groups abroad

The State Department has moved forward with a massive funding push, obligating over $175 million in grants just hours before the fiscal year deadline. This latest development comes despite significant pushback from Congress and concerns regarding how these taxpayer funds are being allocated. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, the department pushed these awards through on Wednesday, effectively bypassing congressional holds that had been placed on the funding, The Guardian reports.

The grants in question, which comprise a large portion of the $205 million Human Rights and Democracy Fund, are shifting the focus of American foreign aid. Instead of the traditional support for human rights defenders, the list now includes projects that explicitly target Western civilizational norms, anti-communism, and opposition to migration.

One of the most notable pieces of this plan is a $40 million grant directed toward a consortium led by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. This is a massive jump in funding for the group, which previously held contracts valued at less than $100,000.

The administration’s involvement in these selections appears to be quite hands-on

Sources with knowledge of the process have indicated that these awards were personally lobbied for by members of the White House. One individual familiar with the discussions noted, “The story for me is the high-level – including White House-directed – attention on these programs,” adding that the awards received buy-in from the highest levels of the department.

This shift has drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the US Senate committee on foreign relations who earlier criticized Pete Hegseth for gutting the Pentagon’s Women, Peace & Security (WPS) program, stated, “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 further remarked, “The Trump administration’s proposals would use taxpayer funds to promote far-right organizations and programs in established democracies. This is a waste of resources and undermines United States values and relations with democratic partners, including allies in Europe.”

The tension reached a breaking point when Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly signed a memo to disregard existing holds on $22 million of these awards. These specific holds were maintained by Shaheen and focused on projects in Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, and various right-wing ideological efforts across the United Kingdom and Europe.

The range of projects being funded is extensive. For instance, $1 million has been earmarked to counter what the administration terms lawfare and censorship in Brazil, specifically targeting the Brazilian Supreme Court. Another $2 million is allocated for promoting Western civilization allies in countries like Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary, with a strict requirement that recipients must not subscribe to what the documentation calls “ideologically weaponized accounts of human rights, such as gender ideology.”

The State Department has maintained that these programs are still in active deliberation and will undergo a standard and rigorous vetting process by grant professionals. A department official explained, “Our programming in Europe aims to support our European allies in defending those rights and principles, along with their civilizational self-confidence and sovereignty from those who seek to undermine them.”

While some proposed grants, such as those for the Free Speech Union and the think tank 878, were withdrawn following public and congressional scrutiny, the core of this $175 million push remains intact. With the September 30 deadline now passed, the administration has successfully locked in this new direction for the democracy fund.