The Trump administration has redirected $1.25 billion from the State Department to President Trump’s Board of Peace, according to a report in Semafor Thursday. The money was intended to fund disaster relief and peacekeeping operations but is now being used to help fulfill Trump’s pledge to provide more than $1 billion for the board.
According to Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller, the Trump administration moved $1 billion from international disaster assistance at the State Department to the Board of Peace. Another $200 million was shifted from peacekeeping, and $50 million from international programs.
Trump established the Board of Peace by executive order earlier this year as a vehicle to oversee the planned reconstruction of Gaza, though the mission has expanded to embrace the general promotion of peace in areas marked by conflict. Trump named himself as chairman of the “public international organization,” which nations can join permanently after paying a $1 billion initiation fee.
Trump said last month that ultimately, he wants the U.S. to give $10 billion to the organization, which he described as “the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place.”
Some members of Congress, though, may not be so impressed. On Thursday, Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto introduced a bill that would redirect $1 billion from Trump’s Board of Peace to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
“Instead of giving President Trump a $1 billion blank check to fund a ‘Board of Peace’ that has offered no transparency about how it is investing its money, let’s focus on helping American families afford their monthly power bill,” Cortez Masto said in a press release.
Cortez Masto noted that Trump has shifted federal funds without consulting Congress, which maintains the power of the purse.
“So far, the Trump Administration has presented no credible plan for how the money will be spent, has not been reported to have actually transferred funds directly to Gaza despite its pledge, and has effectively created a ‘slush fund’ for President Trump that experts agree will do little to support humanitarian or peace efforts globally,” she said.