{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lee.senate.gov/2026/5/horrifying-misuse-of-american-tax-dollars-lee-calls-to-slash-un-agency-employing-hamas-terrorists-hiding-hostages-and-weapons", "\u201cHorrifying Misuse of American Tax Dollars\u201d \u2013 Lee Calls to Slash UN Agency Employing Hamas Terrorists, Hiding Hostages and Weapons", "2026-05-19", "2026", "2026-05", "Republican", "Senate", "UT", "Mike Lee", "L000577", "www.lee.senate.gov", "mikelee", "https://www.lee.senate.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) joined Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and a large Senate Republican coalition urging President Trump to defund a United Nations (UN) agency employing and aiding Hamas terrorists. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) employs several terrorists who participated in the initial attacks by Hamas on October 7th, as well as many others with ties to Hamas, and has repeatedly aided the terrorist organization by hiding hostages and weapons and teaching a pro-terrorism, antisemitic curriculum.\n\n\u201cAs if the UN were not already useless and expensive, it is now using American tax dollars to hide hostages and weapons for the Hamas terrorists it employs. Yes, really!\u201d said Senator Mike Lee. \u201c$70 million is funneled yearly from the United Nations to a group in Gaza employing multiple terrorists from the October 7th attacks and their friends. These American-paid employees have used our tax dollars to hide their hostages and weaponry and teach a pro-terrorism, antisemitic curriculum. Americans do not support this horrifying misuse of tax dollars \u2013 it must end now.\u201d\n\nThe letter reads as follows:\n\nDear President Trump,\n\nWe strongly support your administration\u2019s efforts to preserve Israel\u2019s long-term security and ensure that Gaza has a future free of Hamas\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.\n\nEstablished 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\u2019s systemic infiltration by Hamas and other U.S.-designated terrorist organizations. Yet America continued to fund UNRWA.\n\nIsrael found that at least twelve UNRWA employees participated in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, and that roughly ten percent of the agency\u2019s 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.\n\nSince October 7, Hamas has repeatedly diverted UNRWA\u2019s supplies, used its facilities to hide weapons stockpiles and tunnel infrastructure, and even used its buildings to hold hostages. UNRWA\u2019s 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 \u2013 of which the United States provides roughly a quarter.\n\nWe 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\u2019t continue reinforcing the conditions that have fueled terrorism for generations. The time to act is now.\n\nThank you for your attention to this matter. We stand prepared to assist.\n\nThe letter is cosigned by Senators Jim Banks (R-IN), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Susan Collins (R-ME), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Curtis (R-UT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Hoeven (R-ND), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Dave McCormick (R-PA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).\n\nRead exclusive coverage by The New York Post here.\n\nRead the full text of the letter here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-05-20T06:27:31Z", "2026-05-20T06:28:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lee.senate.gov/2026/5/horrifying-misuse-of-american-tax-dollars-lee-calls-to-slash-un-agency-employing-hamas-terrorists-hiding-hostages-and-weapons"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.676458166912198, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}