The newspaper added that one of the main goals of the grants is to enhance freedom of expression in the United Kingdom and Europe, which the US administration claims is under attack.
The grants came to support initiatives aligned with the “Make America Great Again” movement, known by the abbreviation “MAGA,” according to Reuters.
The newspaper added that the proposed grants include $2 million to “fight censorship” resulting from European Union regulations, including the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, according to a copy of a notice the State Department sent to lawmakers.
The newspaper noted that the notice did not clarify whether the administration had identified an entity to implement the project. The notice also detailed plans to provide $5 million to “develop a civilizational alliance” in Europe, as it put it.
Potential uses of the grant include initiatives to defend “freedom of expression, political competition, and national sovereignty” on the continent.
Other projects mentioned in the notice are consistent with previous US foreign aid efforts, including funding research and countering efforts by authoritarian governments to silence their critics abroad.
A second notice to American lawmakers included allocating funding to the International Freedom of Expression Federation, an umbrella organization affiliated with the British Freedom of Expression Federation, which was founded by conservative member of the House of Lords Toby Young.
