The Trump administration cut HIV funding for South Africa, but is now reportedly considering funding research on crime against white South Africans

The Trump administration is considering a new grant to fund research into crime against minority groups in South Africa, according to a ProPublica investigation. Sources familiar with the matter say the group targeted by the proposal is Afrikaners, the white ethnic group that built South Africa’s apartheid system.

The proposal comes from the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, known as DRL. For decades, the bureau has funded human rights work in some of the world’s most repressive countries. Under the Trump administration, DRL is directing money toward right-wing causes in Europe and elsewhere.

The shift comes as Congress continues to require the government to spend billions of dollars in foreign aid funds, even as the Trump administration has cut or ended many long-standing programs it says do not align with American interests.

DRL had considered directing funds to a group tied to an advocate for Afrikaner self-rule

DRL staff were told to begin awarding funds to a group called Lex Libertas. The group was founded by a figure who has called for Afrikaner self-governance. Lex Libertas is currently raising money to place 3,000 white crosses on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to remember attacks on South African farmers.

The proposal was later changed to open the $1 million grant to a wider group of invited organizations, though it is still meant for the same purpose, citing people familiar with the process. The State Department would not say whether Lex Libertas would be among the groups invited to apply, citing ongoing deliberations.

The department said the administration has serious concerns about the human rights situation in South Africa. Lex Libertas did not respond to questions about the organization or the proposed grant.

Former diplomats who have worked on human rights issues said they were surprised this issue would be prioritized over other human rights concerns in the region. One former official said, “It’s laughable to suggest that on the African continent, the prime issue of human rights concern is whites in South Africa.”

Research has found that white South African farmers are not victims of crime at higher rates than other groups. South Africa does face high levels of violence overall. The proposed grant fits into a broader pattern of the administration fast-tracking entry for white South Africans while limiting refugee admissions from other countries.

Experts say the proposed grant fits a broader pattern in how the Trump administration has approached South Africa. Mattie Webb, a professor at the Virginia Military Institute who studies South Africa and U.S. foreign policy, said that for decades, the relationship between the two countries was shaped largely by major U.S. support for HIV care.

Webb said that has changed since Trump returned to office, with the administration building closer ties to groups considered fringe within South Africa. “The U.S. is very clearly shifting its priorities away from aid that would benefit far more people in South Africa to this narrow focus on the white minority,” Webb said.

Over the past 18 months, Trump has said there is a genocide of white South Africans taking place. He has pointed to claims that white people face disproportionate violence as a reason to cut U.S. funding for HIV treatment and research in the country. At the same time, Trump has largely barred new refugees from entering the United States, while fast-tracking entry for white South Africans.

Former diplomats said that while tensions between South Africa and the U.S. are not new, American aid has saved lives and helped maintain a relationship that matters for U.S. national security and economic interests. They said that by funding a movement opposed to the South African government, the U.S. risks damaging that relationship further.

A ProPublica investigation also found other proposed grants that raised concerns among experts and lawmakers. Officials are considering a $5 million grant for a British free-speech organization that has opposed bans on so-called gay conversion therapy.

The grant would fund support for people facing “deplatforming” and advocacy against “restrictive online safety and hate speech laws,” according to a document reviewed by the outlet. The organization’s founder said it had “neither applied for nor been awarded a grant from the US State Department or any other branch of the US Government,” but did not answer other questions.

DRL has also released a call for proposals to fund research, conferences, and cultural events in wealthy democracies aimed at building what it calls “civilizational self-confidence in Europe.” Not all of the proposed funding targets controversial groups. However, some grants meant for more traditional human rights work are bypassing federal rules that require competitive bidding, rules meant to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.

Officials are instead directing millions of dollars to organizations they have selected directly, according to sources and documents reviewed. The administration has faced similar scrutiny elsewhere in government, after admitting a separate grant program was politically motivated in court filings tied to canceled energy research funding.

In response to questions from ProPublica, the State Department said the grant process is ongoing and involves input from multiple offices. The department said, “programs are still in active deliberation and receipt of a grant is not guaranteed to any organization that does not meet all requirement and standards for federal grants.”