Did trump give afganastan 45 billion dollars
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Executive summary
Available reporting shows no verified evidence that the Trump administration directly flew $45 billion — or $45 million on Dec. 8, 2025 — in cash to the Taliban; fact-checkers and news outlets trace claims to misattributed photos and to long-standing flows of cash into Afghanistan via U.N. and other aid channels, with SIGAR and other reports documenting roughly $3–3.8 billion in cash shipments since 2021 and U.S. humanitarian allocations of just over $3 billion between Oct. 2021 and Dec. 2024 [1] [2] [3]. Conservatives and some Republicans publicly criticized reports that a $45 million shipment occurred, but the State Department told Newsweek it was not sending money to the Taliban [4] [5].
1. How the claim spread: a viral post, a reused photo, and politicians pushing the story
The immediate claim that the Trump administration “flew $45M in cash to the Taliban” circulated on social platforms and in outlets such as Newsweek, citing posts by activist commentators and statements from Rep. Tim Burchett; the allegation referenced a December 8, 2025 shipment and prompted Republican backlash [4]. Fact-checkers flagged that the image used to support the claim dated to 2023 and documented U.N. humanitarian cash shipments, not a U.S. handover in December 2025, and that the viral post misattributed the photo [1] [6].
2. What fact‑checking and reporting actually found
Lead Stories and other hoax-checkers concluded “No, that’s not true”: the photograph underpinning social posts was from a 2023 report about U.N. cash shipments and the U.N. — not the U.S. — has delivered large volumes of physical cash into Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover [1]. Snopes and Lead Stories traced broader claims back to reporting about multi‑year cash flows and to statements by anti‑Taliban activists; they did not corroborate a fresh U.S. cash flight on Dec. 8, 2025 [5] [1].
3. The documented flows of cash into Afghanistan since 2021
Oversight and congressional sources show substantial humanitarian and development funding into Afghanistan since the Taliban took power: SIGAR and Congressional Research Service summaries say the U.S. allocated just over $3 billion in humanitarian and development assistance from October 2021 through December 2024, and that the U.N. purchased and transported at least $3.8 billion in U.S. currency for humanitarian operations in that period [2] [3]. Reporters and watchdogs emphasize that much aid has been channeled through U.N. agencies and NGOs [3].
4. Why critics conflate aid shipments with direct payments to the Taliban
Some Republicans and commentators argue that cash sent to Afghanistan — often deposited into the country’s banking system or handled by U.N. partners — ends up benefiting the Taliban indirectly via control of the central bank or aid diversion; that line of critique fueled outrage at reports of $45 million shipments and spurred legislative and political responses [4] [6]. U.S. officials told Newsweek the State Department was not sending money to the Taliban, highlighting disagreement between critics’ framing and official statements [4].
5. Policy context: Trump administration aid cuts and reversals
In 2025 the Trump administration moved to end or reinstate various foreign aid programs and maintained cuts specifically for Afghanistan and Yemen; Reuters and the AP reported the administration ended most remaining U.S. aid to Afghanistan and reversed some cutoffs for other countries while keeping Afghanistan excluded [7] [8] [9]. Congressional summaries note Trump signed orders pausing foreign assistance and that program terminations affected U.S.-funded NGOs working in Afghanistan [2] [3].
6. What remains uncertain or unreported in available sources
Available sources do not mention any verified transfer of $45 billion to the Taliban; they also do not produce a contemporaneous authoritative U.S. government record confirming a U.S.-organized $45 million cash flight to the Taliban on Dec. 8, 2025 — only social posts, secondary reporting, and fact‑checks rebutting the photographic evidence cited [1] [5] [4]. The Special Inspector General and congressional reviews document large historic aid totals but do not validate the specific viral claim [2] [3].
Bottom line: multiple fact‑checks and reporting trace the viral $45 million claim to a reused 2023 photo and to broader, documented cash flows handled largely by the U.N. and NGOs; oversight records show the U.S. has provided roughly $3 billion in humanitarian and development assistance since late 2021, but available reporting does not substantiate a direct U.S. cash flight handing $45 million to the Taliban on the cited date [1] [3] [5].