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The US State Department is set to fund MAGA-affiliated think-tanks and charities across Europe to disseminate Washington’s policy positions and challenge perceived threats to freedom of expression.
Senior State Department official Sarah Rogers traveled to Europe in December to meet with influential right-wing think-tanks and spoke to key figures in Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party about using the money to spread American values, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The funding is tied to celebrations of the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence later this year, the people said.
This is likely to cause consternation among Washington’s allies, particularly centre-left governments like Labor in Britain, who will be concerned that US government money is being deployed to undermine their policies.
A US official said the program was a twist on previous State Department projects that provided funding to specific causes abroad and would likely focus on initiatives based in London, Paris, Berlin and Brussels.
The Trump administration has sought to drastically cut U.S. foreign aid and sharply cut programs that support good governance, human rights, and democracy.
Rogers’ efforts come as the White House has criticized longtime allies in Europe.
The US national security strategy released last year called for “creating deterrence” to the continent’s current trajectory. The document warns that mass migration and “censorship of free speech” could lead to “the destruction of civilization.”
The Trump administration has interpreted efforts to regulate online content in Europe, including major US social media networks, as an attack on free speech.
The US official said Rogers, who is undersecretary for public diplomacy, had allies in the European “free speech” community before entering the government, many of whom were eager to harness the resources and attention of the US administration under Trump.
The person said she was targeting the UK’s Online Security Act and the EU’s Digital Services Act.
While the laws vary in scope and content, the official said they are viewed by the Trump administration as “fundamentally American-targeted regulatory plans” that seek to attack free speech, the independence of American industry and the tech sector.
“The US administration is on a crusade to save Europe,” said a senior figure at Reform UK who spoke to Rogers about the plans. “He has a really soft spot for Britain, but he feels it is under threat from dark forces that are spreading across Europe.”
The UK Government has described the Online Protection Act as important in protecting children from harmful online content.
Another senior reform figure said he was told that Rogers had “a State Department slush fund to run MAGA-style things in various places”, adding that she was willing to “fund European organizations to undermine government policies”.
A State Department spokesperson described the funding as “a transparent, legitimate use of resources to advance American interests and values abroad”, but said it was “grossly inaccurate” to describe it as a “slush fund”.
He said, “Under-Secretary Rogers’ job is to support American causes. We are not at all shy about that. Every grant is fully disclosed and accountable.”
Both reform figures said there were concerns within the Populist Party about being linked to any MAGA initiative, given that the Trump administration is unpopular in Britain.
According to a report, only 16 percent of the British public has a favorable opinion of Trump, while 81 percent consider him unfavorable. YouGov Tracker.
One of the reform figures said, “There are political dangers for us in being too aligned with the US.”
Rogers has been one of Europe’s most vocal critics of the Trump administration and has made clear Washington’s dislike of its online security laws during her visits to the region.
In December, he traveled to London, Paris, Rome and Milan on what was named his “Freedom of Speech Tour”.
He written on x She will “highlight American excellence as we launch America250 with our closest allies,” she said, referring to celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of American independence.
As part of his visit, Rogers gave a speech in London organized by the right-wing Prosperity Institute think-tank, where he described the UK’s Online Security Act as “tyrannical and absurd”, and said it was part of “a tangle of laws (in the UK) that have these censorship effects”.
“It’s clear that the average Briton wants to be a free person, wants to live in a free country… The results that Reform UK are getting are proof positive that the British public is not satisfied with this regime,” she said, adding that she wanted to help the country get back its right to freedom of expression.
