House Republicans are furious with the Biden administration over reports that tens of millions of dollars in U.S. humanitarian aid to Afghanistan may have ended up in the hands of the Taliban.
At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing last week, Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) said: Chairman’s Statement He listed several State Department expenditures and determined them to be either egregious, lacking proper oversight, or both.
Mast pointed to $2.8 billion in humanitarian aid funds reportedly directed to Afghanistan following a disastrous 2021 withdrawal that left more than a dozen U.S. troops dead and led to the Taliban seizing control of the government in Kabul.
After accusing the State Department of using a $500,000 grant to “promote atheism in Nepal,” Mast took aim at what has reportedly happened to billions of dollars the U.S. sent to help Afghan civilians after the country fell.
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“Another example is that the Biden administration has sent more than $2.8 billion to Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in August 2021. Reports show that tens of millions of dollars of that has gone directly into the hands of the Taliban,” Mast said, calling these examples the “tip of the iceberg” of incompetent federal spending.
In May, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement about the findings of a federal inspector general’s investigation that found at least $10.9 million in U.S. taxpayer funds had been indirectly provided to the Taliban.
“It is unacceptable that U.S. funding benefits the Taliban,” McCaul said.
“The Biden administration must take immediate action to prevent American taxpayer dollars from going to the Taliban,” McCaul said in a statement praising the latest efforts by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
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SIGAR was originally established in 2008. Its latest report said the roughly $11 million paid by State Department agencies and other partners “probably represents only a fraction” of what the Taliban ultimately received in the form of taxes, fees, duties and utility charges.
In his speech, Mast called the issue of funding for Afghanistan and the other examples he gave “a prime example of ‘America Last.'”
“We are competing for influence around the world with adversaries like China, Russia and Iran,” Mast said.
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Earlier, as Mast’s second criticism made clear, the State Department denied the allegation that it intended to promote atheism in the Himalayas.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma testified before Congress in March and said that after reviewing the grant and its materials, he found that promoting atheism was not the purpose of the grant and “was not the purpose of its work.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and State Department for further comment.
