Cotton, Senators to Trump: Eliminate UN Agency that Employs Hamas-Terrorists

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hannah McCarthy (202) 465-5601
May 19, 2026

Cotton, Senators to Trump: Eliminate UN Agency that Employs Hamas-Terrorists

Washington, D.C. - Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), joined by 24 colleagues, sent a letter to President Trump requesting that his administration work with the United Nations (UN) to 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 letter is cosigned by Senators Jim Banks (R-Indiana), John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Katie Britt (R-Alabama), Ted Budd (R-North Carolina), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Curtis (R-Utah), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee), John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Dave McCormick (R-Pennsylvania), Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota), Rick Scott (R-Florida), Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), Tim Sheehy (R-Montana), and Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi).

In part, the Senators wrote:

"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."

Full text of the letter may be found here and below.

May 18, 2026

The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Trump,

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. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is one such structure that must be dismantled, not just in Gaza but across the region.

Established in 1949 as a temporary relief agency, UNRWA operates across Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. In defiance of its mission, extensive reports, investigations, and intelligence assessments have confirmed UNRWA's systemic infiltration by Hamas and other U.S.-designated terrorist organizations. Yet America continued to fund UNRWA.

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.

Since October 7, Hamas has repeatedly diverted UNRWA's supplies, used its facilities to hide weapons stockpiles and tunnel infrastructure, and even used its buildings to hold hostages. UNRWA's educational curriculum glorifies terrorism and antisemitism. Yet while the United States has suspended direct funding and Israel has banned the agency from operating on its territory, UNRWA remains active in Gaza. UNRWA continues to receive $70 million annually from the United Nations regular budget - of which the United States provides roughly a quarter.

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.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We stand prepared to assist.

Sincerely,

Tom Cotton
United States Senator

###