The Trump administration orchestrated a systematic effort to disqualify dozens of Muslim organizations from receiving federal security grants, with Department of Homeland Security officials initially proposing a blanket ban on all Muslim groups before settling on individual disqualifications based on disputed terrorism allegations, according to a CNN exclusive investigation published Thursday. Internal documents and interviews with five FEMA officials reveal that DHS and the Department of Government Efficiency used unsubstantiated claims of terrorist connections to strip Muslim nonprofits of millions in security funding while continuing to approve grants for Jewish and Christian organizations.
Secret Proposal for Blanket Muslim Ban Rejected
In April 2025, senior DHS officials asked FEMA leadership to eliminate Muslim organizations from the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which provides funding for religious institutions to enhance security measures against hate crimes. The official who spoke with CNN stated that senior officials sought to prevent adverse public reactions to the financing of Muslim organizations. Still, FEMA staff members rejected this proposal because it would violate all relevant laws.
The proposed blanket exclusion raised concerns at FEMA because Muslim organizations had finished their complete vetting process and became eligible for millions of dollars in security funding. The source revealed that FEMA staff members showed concern about public perception of funding Muslim organizations despite these groups completing all necessary vetting requirements.
The complete ban faced legal problems, so DHS developed DOGE to stop Muslim organizations from getting funding through unverified terrorism connections, which FEMA staff deemed inadequate. A senior FEMA official told CNN that the entire process seemed fundamentally flawed because it established artificial reasons to block funding for particular organizations.
Middle East Forum Report Provides Justification
The systematic exclusions gained momentum after the Middle East Forum, a pro-Israel think tank described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as promoting anti-Muslim sentiments, released a report claiming DHS had allocated $25 million to Muslim organizations with purported terrorist ties between 2013 and 2023. DOGE officials circulated this report among staff, instructing them to ensure none of the mentioned nonprofits would receive funding.
“If you read the report, it’s rather superficial on facts,” a former senior FEMA official remarked to CNN about the Middle East Forum analysis. The Council on American-Islamic Relations characterized the organization as an “anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim hate group” whose leader, Daniel Pipes, has a documented history of anti-Muslim rhetoric.
The DHS announced in August that it had suspended more than $8 million in grants to 49 Muslim organizations following the report by the think tank. However, the department now claims that the external report did not influence funding decisions. “MEF is watching—whether the funds are meant for foreign aid, public education, or homeland security—and we will not rest until every dollar allocated to jihadist-aligned groups is returned to taxpayers,” the Middle East Forum director warned in August.