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Quick Take
President Donald Trump said his administration blocked $50 million for condoms to be sent to Gaza through its pause on foreign aid. But it has provided no evidence that $50 million was ever directed toward condoms for Gaza. The contractor identified by the State Department said it has not used U.S. aid “to procure or distribute condoms.”
Full Story
At her first official briefing as White House press secretary on Jan. 28, Karoline Leavitt defended President Donald Trump’s pause on funding for foreign aid.
As an example of why a freeze on aid to other nations was needed, Leavitt told reporters that the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and the Office of Management and Budget “found that there was about to be 50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza. That is a preposterous waste of taxpayer money. So, that’s what this pause is focused on: being good stewards of tax dollars.”
Trump repeated the claim the next day.
“We identified and stopped $50 million being sent to Gaza to buy condoms for Hamas,” Trump said. “They’ve used them as a method of making bombs.”
Social media posts widely shared a clip of Leavitt’s press briefing and echoed the claim, “President Trump had to stop $50 million in American dollars from going to Gaza to fund condoms. NO, this is NOT a joke.”
But the Trump administration has not provided any evidence that $50 million was ever directed by the U.S. government for the purchase of condoms for the war-torn Gaza Strip. The contractor identified by the government as the recipient of the funding said it provides hospital services in Gaza and has not used U.S. funds “to procure or distribute condoms.” Other U.S. agencies provide little to no funding for condoms in the Middle East.
Funds for Medical Services, Not Condoms
Pressed for the source of her information by the Washington Post Fact Checker, Leavitt cited a Fox News story, which stated that an unnamed White House official said the State Department had “halted several million dollars going to condoms in Gaza this past weekend,” but not $50 million.
A White House official directed reporters to X posts by State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, who wrote on Jan. 28, “American taxpayer dollars spent overseas should be spent wisely, and for the benefit of Americans. The pause in foreign assistance has allowed the @StateDept to prevent unjustified and non-emergency spending.”
The first example Bruce offered: “Condoms. Prevented $102 million in unjustified funding to a contractor in Gaza, including money for contraception.”
Bruce did not name the contractor in her posts. But the Washington Post reported that Bruce’s office said she was referring to “$102,236,000 to fund the International Medical Corps in Gaza.”
Todd Bernhardt, a spokesperson for the International Medical Corps, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that responds to emergency medical needs around the world, emailed a statement to us addressing questions about its services.
The organization has received more than $68 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, to support IMC’s medical operations in Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 2023, the statement said. That funding has supported the operation of two field hospitals that treat about 33,000 patients each month.
Since January 2024, the statement said, the organization “has provided healthcare to more than 383,000 civilians who had no other access to services or treatment, including performing about 11,000 surgeries, with one-third of those categorized as major or moderate procedures. We have assisted in the delivery of some 5,000 babies, about 20% of them via cesarean section. In addition, International Medical Corps has screened 111,000 people for malnutrition, treated 2,767 for acute malnutrition, distributed micronutrient supplements to 36,000 people, and more.”
“No government funding was used to procure or distribute condoms,” the statement said.
The pause in aid from the U.S. would stop IMC’s work in Gaza’s hospitals, including delivering babies and caring for vulnerable newborns, assistance to malnourished children, surgeries and emergency room services, the statement also said.
Support for Global Contraceptive Aid
The Washington Post noted that the U.S. has a program, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, which distributes condoms in other countries to help prevent the spread of HIV infection. But PEPFAR does not work with any nations in the Middle East.
Contraceptives and condoms also are delivered around the world through the support of USAID. The most recent report issued by the agency in April 2024 said the total value of contraceptives and condoms provided internationally in the previous fiscal year amounted to $60.8 million.
The report said 89% of the funding for contraceptives went to Africa, 9% to Asia and 2% to Latin American countries. One country in the Middle East, Jordan, received a shipment valued at $45,681.
So it’s unlikely that a shipment in the amount of $50 million in condoms would be directed to Gaza in 2025, as the Trump administration has claimed. We reached out to the White House press secretary’s office for further comment, but we did not receive a response.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Meta to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Meta has no control over our editorial content.
Sources
Bernhardt, Todd. Senior director of global communications, International Medical Corps. Email to FactCheck.org. 29 Jan 2025.
Ingram, Julia. “What we know about Trump’s claim that the U.S. planned to spend $50 million on condoms for Gaza.” CBS News. 29 Jan 2025.
International Medical Corps. “International Medical Corps Operation in Gaza.” Press release. 29 Jan 2025.
Kessler, Glenn. “$50 million for condoms in Gaza? There’s no evidence for the White House claim.” Washington Post. 29 Jan 2025.
Roll Call. “Press Briefing: Karoline Leavitt Holds a Press Briefing at The White House – January 28, 2025.” 28 Jan 2025.
USAID. “Overview of Contraceptive and Condom Shipments. FY 2023.” Apr 2024.
U.S. Department of State. U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Where We Work. Accessed 30 Jan 2025.
Wallace, Danielle. “State Dept pulls millions in funding for ‘condoms in Gaza,’ as Trump admin looks to trim spending.” Fox News. 28 Jan 2025.
White House. Presidential Actions. “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid.” Executive Order. 20 Jan 2025.
Wong, Edward and Apoorva Mandavilli. “U.S. Halt to Foreign Aid Cripples Programs Worldwide.” New York Times. 28 Jan 2025.