FIRST ON FOX : Fox News Digital has learned that the U.S. could withhold funding for the war against Islamist terror in Somalia until Europe, the African Union (A.U.) and the United Nations (U.N.) pay more of their ‘fair’ share toward the cost of striking out and keeping the peace in the conflict-torn country. 

These plans to ‘prohibit’ the use of U.S. funds are key details, shown first to Fox News Digital, of a new bill to be introduced by three prominent Republican senators.

In line with President Donald Trump’s administration’s widespread moves to tighten fiscal controls in the U.S. and overseas, Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho., Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., are to introduce ‘the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) Funding Restriction Act of 2025.’ 

This is ‘to safeguard U.S. taxpayer funds and hold the U.N. and A.U. accountable in African peace operations,’ Risch told Fox News Digital.

The bill also seeks to mandate the U.S. to oppose any U.N. Security Council action which enables such funding.  

The East African country of Somalia has been wracked for decades by attacks and insurgency from Islamist terrorists, both from ISIS and the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab. In just the past five weeks, U.S. Africa Command reported that it has carried out four airstrikes; three against ISIS terrorists and one against al-Shabaab. At least one of these strikes, the command stated, was against multiple targets.

Chairman Risch told Fox News Digital, ‘The Trump Administration has taken decisive action to counterterrorist groups across Africa, and I’m very supportive.’

However, officials from the European Union, according to Risch, plan to skew payments for the AUSSOM peacekeeping and stablization operation more toward the U.S.; in other words, make the U.S. pay more than it should, he said.

‘At the U.N., our European partners are looking to skirt their financial commitments to AUSSOM in Somalia by switching to a new imbalanced funding mechanism that pushes the burden on Americans,’ he stated.

‘We can’t let that stand,’ Risch continued. ‘This bill will prohibit U.S. contributions to AUSSOM under this new funding scheme, until the A.U. and the U.N. can prove that they are using the funds they have responsibly, and prevent Americans from being locked into perpetually funding a broken system.’

Risch said, ‘President Trump has ushered in a new era of American foreign policy where American taxpayer dollars will be used only to secure a safe and prosperous America. For far too long, our allies have taken America for a ride, and profited off of America paying the lion’s share for global security. Europe must continue to shoulder this burden.’  

The other two senators sponsoring the bill, Cruz and Scott, also serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

Scott told Fox News Digital, ‘The United States will not allow our tax dollars to be exploited by the U.N. while our partners refuse to pay their fair share, much less for a mission that fails to spend these dollars responsibly or transparently. I am proud to join my colleagues on the AUSSOM Funding Restriction Act to ensure Americans’ interests are put first, and their tax dollars spent wisely.’

The specific aims of the bill that have been shown to Fox News Digital are:

• Protect U.S. Taxpayer Funds: Prohibit U.S. financial contributions to AUSSOM under UNSCR 2719 and mandate U.S. opposition to any U.N. Security Council action enabling such funding.
• Ensure Rigorous Oversight: Require the Secretary of State to conduct annual, independent assessments of the A.U.’s compliance with UNSCR 2719 criteria for all A.U.-led peace operations.
• Enhance Transparency and Accountability: Mandate comprehensive reporting to Congress on the assessment findings, AUSSOM’s performance and funding, and any U.S. contributions under UNSCR 2719.
• Strengthen Congressional Consultation: Expand existing State Department briefings to include specific updates on A.U. peace operations funded under UNSCR 2719.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, garnering support ahead of her upcoming confirmation hearing, with senators describing her as a ‘fierce’ advocate for the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ (MAHA) movement. 

Sources familiar with her confirmation hearing prep told Fox News Digital that Nesheiwat has had many ‘productive meetings’ on Capitol Hill regarding her nomination. 

Nesheiwat recently met with the staff for the Senate HELP Committee, along with all the health policy GOP staffers. Sources said those staffers have expressed support for her nomination as medical director in the Public Health Service and surgeon general. Nesheiwat also met with Democrat Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, along with Democrat Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. 

Sources told Fox News Digital that Blackburn is supportive of Nesheiwat. Details of Nesheiwat’s meetings with Hickenlooper and Alsobrooks were not immediately clear. 

The sources said various topics were discussed during those meetings, including fighting chronic illness, diseases, opioids, the mission of MAHA, vaccines, good nutrition, educating Americans with science-backed data, combating healthcare provider shortages, mental health, food deserts and the government’s role in tracking health crises and emerging health threats. 

Sources said the conversations have been ‘positive, productive conversations.’ 

Nesheiwat has met, so far, with all the Republican senators on the Senate HELP Committee except for Sen. Josh Hawley. 

A source told Fox News Digital that Sen. Katie Brit of Alabama, who is not on the committee, wants to meet with Nesheiwat in early May. 

Nesheiwat, formerly a Fox News contributor, is double-board certified in family medicine and urgent care medicine. 

Nesheiwat, a daughter of Jordanian immigrants, led frontline medical teams during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, along with her past work managing public health responses during flu epidemics, the opioid crisis, the monkeypox outbreak and other major health challenges. 

She also was named the first female medical director for CityMD in Manhattan — one of America’s largest urgent care systems. 

Upon nominating Nesheiwat to the position, Trump said she is a ‘fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventative medicine and public health.’

‘I am proud to announce that Dr. Janette Nesheiwat will be the Nation’s Doctor as the United States Surgeon General. Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified Medical Doctor with an unwavering commitment to saving and treating thousands of American lives,’ he said. ‘She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare, and believes in empowering individuals to take charge of their health to live longer, healthier lives.’ 

Trump praised Nesheiwat’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying she ‘worked on the front lines in New York City treating thousands of Americans and helped patients in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s Historic Operation Warp Speed that saved hundreds of millions of lives.’

He also praised her ‘expertise and leadership’ after New Orleans’ Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin tornadoes. 

The president said Nesheiwat ‘will play a pivotal role in MAKING AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!’

Meanwhile, after meeting with Nesheiwat, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy said Nesheiwat is ‘aware of the issues facing our nation and how they relate all the way down to counseling a patient in an exam room.’ 

‘A very good meeting,’ he said. 

As for the MAHA movement led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Republicans say Nesheiwat represents the vision of the Trump administration. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said Nesheiwat ‘understands the MAHA movement.’ 

‘With the Trump admin, American health is no longer taking a back seat,’ Banks said. 

Additionally, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said that ‘Making America Healthy Again starts with having strong leadership’ within Health and Human Services. 

‘I know that @DoctorJanette, President Trump’s nominee for Surgeon General, will be a fierce MAHA advocate and will work with @SecKennedy to increase transparency in our healthcare system,’ Tuberville said. 

Nesheiwat began her medical education at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. She completed her initial curriculum at the school’s Saint Maarten campus. She then went on to complete her clinical rotations at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Metropolitan State Hospital, Guy’s & St. Thomas Hospitals and Medway Maritime Hospital. 

Nesheiwat completed her family medicine residence at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Area Health Education Center, and was elected chief resident during her final year. 

In 2009, Nesheiwat achieved board certification in family medicine for the American Board of Family Medicine, and in 2020 achieved board certification in urgent care medicine with the American Board of Urgent Care Medicine. 

Nesheiwat’s hearing is set for May 8 at 10:00 a.m., when senators on the Senate HELP Committee, will question her ahead of her confirmation vote. 

FIRST ON FOX: The United Nations’ UN80 Task Force is examining multiple suggested methods for reorganizing the institution, according to a leaked, confidential document shared with Fox News Digital. The six-page paper cites multiple inefficiencies and areas of improvement needed to combat ‘geopolitical shifts and substantial reductions in foreign aid budgets’ which are ‘challenging the legitimacy and effectiveness of the organization.’

The effort is ‘eight and a half years late,’ Hugh Dugan, former National Security Council Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Organization Affairs, told Fox News Digital: ‘If [Secretary-General António] Guterres really comprehends that the system needs a major overhaul, he should step down and facilitate an early U.N. Secretary-General election.’ Dugan said that ‘the person with the fresh mandate’ should overhaul the U.N.

The UN80 Task Force document notes that ‘overlapping mandates, inefficient use of resources, and inconsistent delivery of services’ are among the problems with proliferating agencies, funds and programs, and notes ways to integrate, consolidate, and coordinate among reformed entities to maximize the benefit for those who rely on the U.N. 

As another means of reducing outlays, the task force also recommended reducing the quantity of high-level posts, establishing single entities to coordinate Peace and Security, Humanitarian Affairs, and Human Rights, and ‘reduc[ing] the number of U.N. development system entities.’ 

Dugan said the document ‘looks more like a whiteboard stream of consciousness approach that you find on the first day of a business retreat.’ He said that it lacks mention of human resource improvements, finding ways of recruiting ‘the very best in the world,’ or ‘identifying performance measurements or metrics against the leaders of the organization, branches, [or] offices.’ 

Dugan said that the task force is also missing the important confidence-building measures needed to increase buy-in from members, to keep them ‘impressed and enthusiastic’ about U.N. programs. ‘They’re assuming that they are the leaders that are the right people at the right time.’ Dugan said this is ‘a real shortcoming.’ 

‘I don’t think they have the confidence of the world community or the talents or the resources to hold out another year and a half under this regime of Secretary Guterres,’ Dugan said. Rather than utilize the ‘Noah’s Ark management mentality’ of attempting to ‘weather the storm,’ Dugan said that the U.N. must ‘get very creative very quickly with what they have at hand.’ 

Dugan noted that the U.N. has gone through a ‘fall-off in relevance’ with its lack of involvement in ‘real world dynamics between member states.’ He urged the organization to identify ‘the multilateral collateral, meaning we’ve got to identify what’s good, and then we have to get rid of what’s damaged after eight years.’

In response to concerns shared by Dugan, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, said that the memo ‘is the result of an exercise to generate ideas and thoughts from senior officials on how to achieve the Secretary-General’s vision’ and is one ‘of the three work streams that we are working on.’

Dujarric pointed to a speech Guterres delivered in March when introducing the UN80 Initiative, in which he called for an ‘ambitious reform agenda to strengthen how we work and deliver.’ Guterres said this involves increasing transparency and accountability, being more effective and cutting costs, and decentralizing decisions to serve those who rely on the U.N.

Dujarric also mentioned a speech Guterres gave eight years ago in September 2017, when he lamented the Byzantine bureaucracy that hampers progress at the U.N., and said that he was ‘pursuing sweeping management reform – to simplify procedures and decentralize decisions, with greater transparency, efficiency and accountability.’

For Dugan, Guterres’ failure to attempt those ‘sweeping’ reforms prior to 2025 is an indication that regime change is needed. He reiterated that ‘the Secretary-General’s ‘Trust me’ window dressing is no longer convincing us to pay full retail.’ 

U.S. contributions to the U.N. may also take a hit. In April, a White House Office of Management and Budget passback to the State Department indicated the desire to end funding for international organizations, including the U.N. 

Other countries are also falling short with contributions. In March, Guterres’ spokesperson Farhan Haq told Fox News Digital that member states’ non-payment of dues had forced the closure of one staff entrance to the U.N. headquarters in New York City at the time.

The House GOP’s standoff over the former Biden administration’s green energy subsides is colliding with Republicans’ plans for a massive bill advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Thirty-eight House Republicans are writing to Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., the chamber’s top tax writer, urging a full repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the coming budget reconciliation bill.

‘We are deeply concerned that President Trump’s commitment to restoring American energy dominance and ending what he calls the ‘green new scam’ is being undermined by parochial interests and short-sighted political calculations,’ the lawmakers wrote.

They argued the IRA subsidies would cost American taxpayers roughly $1 trillion over the next decade.

‘The IRA contains eight major energy subsidies, each of which burdens taxpayers, inflates energy costs, and threatens the reliability of our power grid. Each of these subsidies props up unreliable energy sources while displacing dependable, proven energy like coal and natural gas,’ the letter said.

The lawmakers then took direct aim at fellow Republicans who are pushing for some of the credits to remain intact.

‘Republicans ran—and won—on a promise to completely dismantle the IRA and end the left’s green welfare agenda. The first chapter of our 2024 platform reaffirms our commitment to ‘terminating the Socialist Green New Deal.’ Despite our previously unified stance, some Members of our conference now feel compelled to defend wind and biofuel credits, advocate for carbon capture and hydrogen subsidies, or protect solar and electric vehicle giveaways,’ the letter said. ‘Keeping even one of these subsidies opens the door to retaining all eight.’

‘How do we retain some of these credits and not operate in hypocrisy? The longstanding Republican position has been to allow the market to determine energy production. If every faction continues to defend their favored subsidies, we risk preserving the entire IRA because no clearly defined principle will dictate what is kept and what is culled.’

Republicans are working on a massive piece of legislation advancing Trump’s agenda on taxes, border security, national defense and energy, while also raising the debt limit.

The budget reconciliation process allows them to do that by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, thereby allowing the party controlling Congress and the White House to pass sweeping legislation while sidelining the opposition, in this case Democrats.

Conservative fiscal hawks successfully got House GOP leaders to agree that the trillions of dollars of new spending in the bill – primarily for Trump’s tax policies – must be offset by at least $1.5 trillion in federal funding cuts.

Former President Joe Biden’s IRA subsidies have been a significant flash point in that fight.

In March, 21 House Republicans signed a letter urging their colleagues to preserve the green energy tax credit.

‘Countless American companies are utilizing sector-wide energy tax credits – many of which have enjoyed broad support in Congress – to make major investments in domestic energy production and infrastructure for traditional and renewable energy sources alike,’ they wrote.

That letter pointed out that investments have already been made in American entities with the understanding that those subsidies would have a 10-year window.

‘These timelines have been relied upon when it comes to capital allocation, planning, and project commitments, all of which would be jeopardized by premature credit phase outs or additional restrictive mechanisms such as limiting transferability,’ it said.

They argued that changing that now could lead to rising energy costs for American families.

The anti-IRA Republicans, however, said in their letter that the U.S.’ growing green energy sector was the product of government handouts rather than genuine sustainable growth.

‘Leaving IRA subsidies intact will actively undermine America’s return to energy dominance and national security,’ they said. ‘They are the result of government subsidies that distort the U.S. energy sector, displace reliable coal and natural gas and the domestic jobs they produce, and put the stability and independence of our electric grid in jeopardy.’

Meanwhile, House GOP leaders like House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have made clear they have issues with the wider bill, but share concerns about ending measures in use under the current administration and risking political blowback in GOP districts that have seen investments by entities that have benefited from the subsidies.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Ways & Means Committee for comment but did not hear back by press time.

The Pentagon’s procurement system has kept American forces stocked with some of the most iconic military hardware in history – from the battle-hardened Humvee to the cutting-edge Apache helicopter. But according to the Army’s top technology officer, it’s also trapped in a cycle of outdated thinking and bloated paperwork that could hinder the U.S. in the next great-power conflict.

‘We still have just over 100,000 Humvees,’ Alex Miller, the Army’s Chief Technology Officer, told Fox News Digital, speaking about the legacy vehicle first introduced in the 1980s. ‘Even though during the global War on Terror, we saw the threat change.’

Miller pointed to roadside bombs, or IEDs, which devastated troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, as a turning point. ‘There were lots of reports that if a Humvee rolled over an IED, it just was not a good situation for soldiers,’ he said.

Still, the Army continued buying Humvees, even as it rushed to field more survivable vehicles like MRAPs and Strykers. That, Miller said, highlights the larger issue: not a single acquisition failure, but a systemwide problem in how the military does business.

‘We’re playing by the same post-Cold War rules that told us if you have a requirement, you’re going to keep on buying it,’ Miller said. ‘Because the requirements process and the acquisition process and the fielding process sort of never changed, we find ourselves in this conundrum where we still have just over 100,000 Humvees.’

Despite introducing newer vehicles like the JLTV – designed to replace the Humvee with better armor and mobility – Miller says the rapid pace of technological change and emerging threats have left even those newer systems at risk of becoming obsolete.

‘Even though we continue to buy them and have them in the budget,’ he said, ‘that might not be the right answer either.’

Miller laid out the Army’s plans to solve a decades-long issue at the Pentagon, bringing new weapons systems from the proposal stage to the battlefront before technology renders them outdated – just as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a new memo directing an overhaul of the Army’s acquisitions process. 

‘To build a leaner, more lethal force, the Army must transform at an accelerated pace by divesting outdated, redundant, and inefficient programs, as well as restructuring headquarters and acquisition systems,’ Hegseth wrote. 

Fighting today’s war with yesterday’s tools

Miller warned that some of the Army’s marquee weapons platforms may not be suited for the battlefields of the future.

‘Ukraine has not asked for a single Apache,’ he noted. ‘Our Apaches are a great platform. It’s amazing. But … looking at more unmanned systems is probably the way to go.’

He also raised questions about the utility of legacy artillery platforms like the Paladin howitzer. Although artillery is dominating the war in Ukraine, the Army is stockpiling more Paladins largely to meet a ‘minimum sustainment rate’ — not because commanders are asking for them.

That kind of bureaucratic inertia, Miller suggested, is exactly what needs to be upended.

In an effort to modernize more rapidly, the Army is now slashing red tape and rewriting regulations. Under a new initiative called ‘Transforming in Contact,’ Army leaders have sent requirement writers into the field to live and train alongside soldiers, gathering real-time feedback instead of drafting 300-page documents back in Washington.

‘Rather than trying to define what types of things they need, how about we just listen to them for a change?’ Miller said. ‘We started that last year … and that has been wildly successful.’

Units heading to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, Louisiana next week will be equipped with some of the most advanced gear in the Army, including autonomous infantry vehicles built with Silicon Valley partners, advanced battery tech and hundreds of drones.

‘All because our leadership just said, go do the right thing, rather than trying to check boxes,’ Miller said.

Now, according to Miller, the requirements documentation for things like next-generation unmanned aerial vehicles has been whittled down from between 200 and 300 pages to 10. 

In other cases, modernization isn’t always necessary, according to Abigail Blanco, defense expert and professor at the University of Tampa. 

Up until a few years ago when it was finally retired, one of the primary reconnaissance systems in the War on Terror was the RQ-4 Global Hawk. 

The RQ-4 had an impressive payload capacity of 3,000 pounds and advanced reconnaissance capabilities – at an enormous cost. Each one was originally slated to cost $20 million but wound up costing $220 million per unit. 

‘If you look at reports from the Air Force, they repeatedly stated that instead of the [RQ-4], they preferred the U-2 spy plane, which, to be clear, is a relic in military terms. It’s from the Cold War period. And so it’s not always clear that the modernization piece is desirable.’

A Battle Inside the Beltway

Some lawmakers and defense officials initially resisted the Army’s push to streamline systems. 

‘The OSD comptroller pushed back really hard. Some parts of the Hill pushed back really hard,’ Miller said. ‘But we ran a really aggressive ground game.… We’re not asking for more money. We’re asking to spend taxpayer dollars better.’

The problem, according to Blanco, is Congress has long continued to budget for equipment way beyond its point of usefulness. 

‘If you are an elected representative and your district manufactures Humvees or tanks, you have a really strong vested interest in ensuring that that technology continues to be produced, regardless whether or not it’s operationally necessary.’

In the end, Miller said, acquisition reform isn’t about cutting corners – it’s about keeping pace with an adversary who doesn’t care about red tape.

‘The environment, the threat, and the reality change so fast,’ he said. ‘We have permission to just be ruthless about working with commercial entities … and figuring out what can we get in the hands of soldiers faster.’

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Friday will update a Biden-era federal rule regarding energy development as a major cost-saving measure to private firms, one day after taking a visit to a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility on the Gulf Coast.

A source familiar with the workings of the rule said it essentially will ‘massively deregulate’ a rule passed between the two Trump administrations and should further bolster Gulf Coast oil and gas production by providing lower startup costs for energy firms.

The rule outlines criteria that producers and grantholders must provide as financial assurance, with a 2024 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) estimate that $6.9 billion in new supplemental assurance would be required to protect against oil lessees’ default.

The Interior Department said that $6.9 billion added up to the $665 million in estimated additional insurance premiums for energy companies, which stifled how much they could spend to expand their operations and pursue what President Donald Trump has called ‘American energy dominance.’

Burgum told Fox News Digital that the rule revision will ‘enable our nation’s energy producers to redirect their capital toward future leasing, exploration, and production all while financially protecting the American taxpayer.

‘Cutting red tape will level the playing field and allow American companies to make investments that strengthen domestic energy security and benefit Gulf of America states and their communities,’ he said.

BOEM will continue to require lessees on the outer continental shelf to provide financial assurances, while the Trump administration writ large works toward more balanced regulations, the department said in an exclusive statement.

During Burgum’s visit to the Gulf, he met with energy workers at the LNG facility and discussed how the department under his leadership wants to better support the industry.

The Gulf of America currently produces approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude oil daily and 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. 

Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy suggested that the department has accomplished more during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term than President Joe Biden and former Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg accomplished in four years.

Duffy made the assertion when sharing a post by Buttigieg, who became Transportation secretary not long after Biden took office in 2021.

‘100 days into this presidency, Americans are paying the price – higher prices, crashing retirement accounts, and broken promises. But the American people are turning, thanks to your voices. Keep it up. It’s up to us to demand something better,’ Buttigieg wrote in the post, which also included a video of him speaking.

When retweeting Buttigieg’s post, Duffy declared, ‘We’ve achieved more in 100 days than Buttigieg and Biden achieved in 4 years. Pete appears unburdened by no longer being a cabinet secretary. Not one word on transportation or infrastructure because he got nothing done. @POTUS and I will continue the work of ripping out the Green New Scam and DEI for the American people!’

Earlier this year, Trump blasted Buttigieg.

‘He’s a disaster. He was a disaster as a mayor. He ran his city into the ground. And he’s a disaster now,’ Trump said, asserting that Buttigieg just has ‘a good line of bulls—.’

Buttigieg previously served as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

He announced in March that he will not be running for governor or U.S. Senate in Michigan in 2026.

‘I care deeply about who Michigan will elect as Governor and send to the U.S. Senate next year, but I have decided against competing in either race,’ he noted in a post on X.

FIRST ON FOX : Fox News Digital has learned that the U.S. could withhold funding for the war against Islamist terror in Somalia until Europe, the African Union (A.U.) and the United Nations (U.N.) pay more of their ‘fair’ share toward the cost of striking out and keeping the peace in the conflict-torn country. 

These plans to ‘prohibit’ the use of U.S. funds are key details, shown first to Fox News Digital, of a new bill to be introduced by three prominent Republican senators.

In line with President Donald Trump’s administration’s widespread moves to tighten fiscal controls in the U.S. and overseas, Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho., Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., are to introduce ‘the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) Funding Restriction Act of 2025.’ 

This is ‘to safeguard U.S. taxpayer funds and hold the U.N. and A.U. accountable in African peace operations,’ Risch told Fox News Digital.

The bill also seeks to mandate the U.S. to oppose any U.N. Security Council action which enables such funding.  

The East African country of Somalia has been wracked for decades by attacks and insurgency from Islamist terrorists, both from ISIS and the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab. In just the past five weeks, U.S. Africa Command reported that it has carried out four airstrikes; three against ISIS terrorists and one against al-Shabaab. At least one of these strikes, the command stated, was against multiple targets.

Chairman Risch told Fox News Digital, ‘The Trump Administration has taken decisive action to counterterrorist groups across Africa, and I’m very supportive.’

However, officials from the European Union, according to Risch, plan to skew payments for the AUSSOM peacekeeping and stablization operation more toward the U.S.; in other words, make the U.S. pay more than it should, he said.

‘At the U.N., our European partners are looking to skirt their financial commitments to AUSSOM in Somalia by switching to a new imbalanced funding mechanism that pushes the burden on Americans,’ he stated.

‘We can’t let that stand,’ Risch continued. ‘This bill will prohibit U.S. contributions to AUSSOM under this new funding scheme, until the A.U. and the U.N. can prove that they are using the funds they have responsibly, and prevent Americans from being locked into perpetually funding a broken system.’

Risch said, ‘President Trump has ushered in a new era of American foreign policy where American taxpayer dollars will be used only to secure a safe and prosperous America. For far too long, our allies have taken America for a ride, and profited off of America paying the lion’s share for global security. Europe must continue to shoulder this burden.’  

The other two senators sponsoring the bill, Cruz and Scott, also serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

Scott told Fox News Digital, ‘The United States will not allow our tax dollars to be exploited by the U.N. while our partners refuse to pay their fair share, much less for a mission that fails to spend these dollars responsibly or transparently. I am proud to join my colleagues on the AUSSOM Funding Restriction Act to ensure Americans’ interests are put first, and their tax dollars spent wisely.’

The specific aims of the bill that have been shown to Fox News Digital are:

• Protect U.S. Taxpayer Funds: Prohibit U.S. financial contributions to AUSSOM under UNSCR 2719 and mandate U.S. opposition to any U.N. Security Council action enabling such funding.
• Ensure Rigorous Oversight: Require the Secretary of State to conduct annual, independent assessments of the A.U.’s compliance with UNSCR 2719 criteria for all A.U.-led peace operations.
• Enhance Transparency and Accountability: Mandate comprehensive reporting to Congress on the assessment findings, AUSSOM’s performance and funding, and any U.S. contributions under UNSCR 2719.
• Strengthen Congressional Consultation: Expand existing State Department briefings to include specific updates on A.U. peace operations funded under UNSCR 2719.