U.S. Senators Katie Britt, Tom Cotton, Colleagues Urge Trump Administration to Eliminate UN Agency that Employs Hamas Terrorists

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) joined Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and 24 of her Senate colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump requesting that his administration fully dismantle and eliminate the budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Numerous UNRWA employees have ties to Hamas and other terrorist groups, yet they continue to receive millions of dollars annually from the UN.

The Senators began, "We strongly support your administration's efforts to preserve Israel's long-term security and ensure that Gaza has a future free of Hamas's terrorist influence. Your strong leadership has been instrumental in advancing a comprehensive 20-point peace plan that demands Hamas disarm and play no role in Gaza governance. Achieving stability in Gaza requires ridding Gaza of the military, social, and political infrastructure that fed Hamas's power."

They continued, "Israel found that at least twelve UNRWA employees participated in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, and that roughly ten percent of the agency's employees in Gaza have ties to terrorist groups. Recently, a USAID Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigation identified three additional UNRWA employees who participated in the attacks as well as 14 others affiliated with Hamas. The USAID OIG is expanding its probe to examine more than 100 UNRWA employees for potential ties to Hamas and involvement in the attacks."

"We strongly urge your administration to take decisive action to fully dismantle UNRWA and eliminate it from the UN budget. Any aid organization in Gaza or otherwise must be demonstrably free of ties to terrorism and committed to transparency, accountability, and peace. We must ensure this failed system doesn't continue reinforcing the conditions that have fueled terrorism for generations. The time to act is now," the Senators concluded.

Senators Jim Banks (R-Ind.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Kevin Cramer (R-N.Dak.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Curtis (R-Utah), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.Dak.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Mike Rounds (R-S.Dak.), Rick Scott (R-Fla), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) also signed on to the letter.

You can read the full text of the letter here.

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