On the Last Day of the Fiscal Year, the State Department Overrides Congressional Holds to Move $52 Million in Ukraine-Era Military Aid to Latin America and Spend Democracy Fund Money on "Western Civilization" Grants — Jeanne Shaheen and Gregory Meeks Call the Reprogramming Unlawful and Warn of "Consequences," While State Says It "Will Never Apologize for Defending Western Civilization"
In mid-September 2026 the State Department notified Congress that it intended to reprogram about $52 million in Foreign Military Financing — originally directed to Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq, and partly drawn from the 2022 Ukraine supplemental, which limits the money to "countries impacted by the situation in Ukraine" — to Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. The ranking Democrats on the two foreign affairs committees, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), placed a hold on the transfer. Late on Sept. 30, the final day of the fiscal year, the department told Congress it would proceed anyway, saying in a statement that shifting money "away from Middle East and Europe to the Western Hemisphere is consistent with the National Security Strategy." Shaheen and Meeks responded on Oct. 1 that the breach of their hold would violate statutory requirements. On Oct. 2, CNN reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also signed a memo obligating money from the roughly $177 million Democracy Fund before it lapsed — despite Shaheen's holds on 10 proposed awards worth $22 million — including grants for Afrikaner rights in South Africa, a $5 million European "civilizational alliance" program and documenting European "backsliding" on migration.
“[On the Democracy Fund grants:] Congress appropriated money for the Democracy Fund on a bipartisan basis to support defenders of human rights, to assist victims of human rights violations … In bypassing Congress, the Trump Administration is now using taxpayer funds to promote far-right organizations and programs in established democracies. This is a waste of resources and undermines American values and our relationships with democratic partners, including allies in Europe.”