The Trump administration has redirected almost $177 million from a US government fund intended to support democracy and human rights towards projects that include Afrikaner rights in South Africa, anti-communism and conservative political causes in Europe and elsewhere, Cape {town} Etc reports.
The move has placed South Africa at the centre of another growing dispute between Washington and Pretoria, with the funding shift coming as Donald Trump’s administration continues to challenge the South African government over land reform, race-based policies and its treatment of white minorities.
According to CNN, the US State Department obligated $176.9 million in funding across 43 awards on 30 September, just hours before the end of the US financial year. The money came from the Human Rights and Democracy Fund, which Congress had appropriated for programmes supporting human rights defenders, victims of rights abuses and democratic development.
The US State Department directed millions of dollars originally earmarked to promote human rights to promote far-right causes including Afrikaner rights in South Africa, safeguarding “Western civilizational norms,” and documenting “backsliding” in Europe related to mass… pic.twitter.com/jF9K6F4GXH
— CNN (@CNN) October 2, 2026
South Africa becomes part of the funding fight
The US government has increasingly made the position of Afrikaners a major issue in its dealings with Pretoria. The Trump administration has repeatedly raised concerns about rural crime, land reform and policies aimed at addressing the economic effects of apartheid. Pretoria has strongly disputed Washington’s characterisation of South Africa’s domestic policies.
In a statement last month, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola said the US position reflected a misrepresentation of South Africa’s policies by groups claiming to speak for minorities and Afrikaners more broadly.
South Africa’s government has stressed that its transformation policies are rooted in the country’s history of racial inequality and the constitutional project that followed apartheid. This history matters in understanding why the latest US funding decision is likely to attract attention in South Africa.
The competing interpretations have increasingly affected US-South African diplomatic relations.
US-SA RELATIONS | The United States has reaffirmed its demands on South Africa after Pretoria demarched U.S. Ambassador Brent Bozell over what it described as undiplomatic conduct. pic.twitter.com/U2gl2TekZ0
— SABC News (@SABCNews) October 1, 2026
Millions going to causes beyond traditional human rights work
The South African component is only one part of a much broader change in how the Trump administration is using the fund.
Reportedly, the 43 awards include a $40 million grant to a consortium led by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, while other programmes are aimed at issues including immigration, online regulation, free speech, Christian protection and opposition to what the administration describes as ‘gender ideology’.
One European programme is intended to promote what the State Department describes as Western ‘civilizational self-confidence’ and national sovereignty. Another proposed programme focused on Europe was designed to document alleged democratic backsliding associated with mass migration.
There is also a $1 million programme concerning Brazil‘s Supreme Court, reflecting the Trump administration’s increasingly tense relationship with the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The grants represent a significant departure from the traditional use of the Human Rights and Democracy Fund, according to the reporting, which has generally centred on civil society organisations and human rights work in countries with authoritarian governments or weaker democratic institutions.
Why Congress objected
The funding has also sparked a dispute in Washington over congressional oversight. US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had placed holds on 10 proposed awards worth $22 million, including programmes involving South Africa, Brazil and Nigeria.
‘The Trump administration’s proposals would use taxpayer funds to promote far-right organizations and programs in established democracies.’
– US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The Trump administration, however, defended the programmes as part of its broader foreign-policy priorities. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the administration would continue to oppose censorship, mass migration and what it described as government-sponsored race-based discrimination in South Africa.
What the latest move means for South Africa
The latest funding decision adds another layer to an already complicated relationship. For Pretoria, the central issue remains the right of South Africans to determine domestic policy within the country’s constitutional and democratic framework.
The result is that an American government fund carrying the language of human rights and democracy is now at the heart of a debate over what those terms should mean, and who gets to decide.
For South Africans, the Afrikaner component is particularly sensitive because it touches directly on the country’s unresolved debates over race, land, inequality, transformation and the legacy of apartheid.
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