Senate Democrat questions Trump administration's $7.5M payment to Equatorial Guinea

Source: AP

By STEPHEN GROVES
Updated 12:57 PM CST, November 10, 2025


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration made a $7.5 million payment to the government of Equatorial Guinea as it seeks to deport people to the West African country and draws closer to its heavily prosecuted leaders, according to the top Democratic senator on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said in a letter sent Monday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and obtained by The Associated Press that “this highly unusual payment — to one of the most corrupt governments in the world — raises serious concerns over the responsible, transparent use of American taxpayer dollars.”

Shaheen said in her letter that the $7.5 million payment stood out because it would would “far exceed the amount of U.S. foreign assistance provided over the last 8 years combined” to the country.

The payment, made from a fund for migration and refugee assistance, would be the first government-to-government transfer from that account, which was set up by Congress to respond to humanitarian crises. She questioned whether the payment was a permissible use of the money.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/equatorial-guinea-payment-marco-rubio-82335605d00326d59f9464d4e6c1c018