Former DOGE official rushed grant to Trump-backed Gaza aid group over staff objections

Reuters

3 days ago

WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - A top U.S. State Department official waived nine mandatory counterterrorism and anti-fraud safeguards to rush a $30 million award last month to a Gaza aid group backed by the Trump administration and Israel, according to an internal memorandum seen by Reuters.
Jeremy Lewin, a former Department of Government Efficiency associate, signed off on the award despite an assessment in the memorandum that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's (GHF) funding plan failed to meet required "minimum technical or budgetary standards."
The June 24 action memorandum to Lewin was sent by Kenneth Jackson, also a former DOGE operative who serves as an acting deputy U.S. Agency for International Development administrator. The pair has overseen the agency's dismantling and the merger of its functions into the State Department.
Lewin also overrode 58 objections that USAID staff experts wanted GHF to resolve in its application before the funds were approved, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Lewin, who runs the State Department's foreign aid program, cleared the funds only five days after GHF filed its proposal on June 19, according to the June 24 "action memorandum" bearing his signature seen by Reuters.
"Strong Admin support for this one," Lewin wrote to USAID leaders in a June 25 email - also seen by Reuters - that urged disbursement of the funds by the agency "ASAP."
The action memorandum was first reported by CNN.
Lewin and Jackson did not respond to requests for comment.
The documents underline the priority the Trump administration has given GHF despite the group's lack of experience and the killing of hundreds of Palestinians near its Gaza aid distribution hubs.
GHF, which closely coordinates with the Israeli military, has acknowledged reports of violence but says they occurred beyond its operations area.
Lewin noted in the email that he had discussed the funds with aides to Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's negotiator on Gaza, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's office.
He acknowledged that authorizing the funds would be controversial, writing: "I'm taking the bullet on this one."
The White House, asked for comment, referred to a State Department statement provided to Reuters. Witkoff and Rubio did not reply to a question about whether they were aware of and supported the decision to waive the safeguards.
The State Department said in its statement that the $30 million was approved under a legal provision allowing USAID to expedite awards in response to "emergency situations" to "meet humanitarian needs as expeditiously as possible."
"The GHF award remains subject to rigorous oversight, including of GHF's operations and finances," the statement said. "As part of the award, GHF was subject to new control and reporting requirements."
In response to a request for comment, a GHF spokesperson said: "Our model is specifically designed to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. Every dollar we receive is safeguarded to ensure all resources — which will eventually include American taxpayer funds — reach the people of Gaza."
The spokesperson added that such requests for clarification from the U.S. government about fund applications were routine.
Speaking about the nine conditions that were waived, the spokesperson said: "We are addressing each question as per regulations and normal procedure and will continue to do so as required."
GHF says its operation is preventing Hamas from hijacking food aid and using it to control the enclave's population, charges denied by the Islamist militants who ran Gaza.
In the June 24 action memorandum, Jackson wrote that GHF is 'uniquely positioned to operate in areas with restricted access,' and said it has delivered millions of meals and diluted Hamas' control over Gaza's 2.1 million Palestinians.
He acknowledged that GHF 'is a new organization that has not met USAID's various formal criteria for eligibility' for the $30 million award.
Jackson listed nine conditions that applicants normally must satisfy before receiving USAID funds, explicitly outlining the terms of each and the risks of waiving them.
For instance, he noted a 'legal requirement' that aid organizations working in Gaza or the West Bank undergo vetting for ties to extremist organizations before they are awarded USAID funds, the document said.
'Waiving the requirement could increase the risk' that an aid group, its subcontractors or vendors 'could be found ineligible due to terrorism-related concerns,' said the document.
Jackson also wrote that USAID was required to examine whether an organization has sufficient internal controls to manage awards. He warned that waiving the condition 'could raise the risk of misuse of taxpayer resources,' according to the document.
GHF submitted a plan – required prior to approval of funds – that was incomplete on how it would deal with legal and operational risks of operating in Gaza, the document said.
Waiving the need for a full plan 'could risk programmatic diversion, reputational harm, and potential violations of U.S. counterterrorism laws," it continued.
Despite the risks, Jackson recommended waiving all nine requirements and allowing GHF to fulfill them later because of the "humanitarian and political urgency" of its operation, the memo said. Lewin checked a box labeled 'Approve' on each of the recommendations, it showed.
In addition to waiving the nine requirements, two sources familiar with the matter said, Lewin overrode 58 objections from USAID staff reviewing GHF's application.
Two former top USAID officials said they had never heard of a senior official like Lewin expediting an award over the objections of professional staff.
"I oversaw something like 1,500 grants. I never saw it happen," said Sarah Charles, who led USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance from 2021-2024. "Very occasionally, we would do the vetting after an award in a sudden onset emergency - think earthquake - but that was at the recommendation of staff."
In the review, the USAID experts questioned how GHF would ensure the safety of Palestinians collecting food packages at its sites; whether its staff had proper humanitarian training and its plans to distribute powdered infant formula in an enclave with scarce access to clean drinking water, the sources said.