FIRST ON FOX: The State Department says it is working swiftly to distribute tens of thousands of tons of food aid around the globe, pushing back on reports that the U.S. was preparing to incinerate hundreds of tons of stockpiled supplies before they could be delivered.

According to figures shared with Fox News Digital, the agency currently has 59,305 metric tons of in-kind food commodities stored in warehouses across the United States and abroad. 

"We have already programmed all the food expiring before October 2026," a senior State Department official said. "The idea that we have tons of expiring food we are letting go to waste is simply false."

The State Department says it has approved 44,422 metric tons of food to be transferred or reprogrammed through partnerships with the World Food Program (WFP), Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, and Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA). That includes 30,000 tons of short-dated food supplies already programmed for delivery to crisis zones like Syria, Bangladesh, and Sudan.

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An additional 12,000 tons of aid is awaiting final reprogramming, a delay the department attributes to a temporary hold by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Title II apportionments — an issue officials say has now been resolved. 

"To the extent there is a delay that is causing operational problems, it is not from the State Department," the official said. "All of the food expiring in the next 16 months is accounted for."

The official also dismissed recent media coverage, arguing that the focus on a limited amount of food near expiration distorts the larger picture. "The very small portion — less than 1% of USAID’s food stockpiles — addressed by the mainstream media was the exception that distracts from a very extensive and orderly process we directed to ensure that all of the food was accounted for in an efficient and strategic manner."

The public defense comes after several outlets reported that the Trump administration ordered the incineration of roughly 500 metric tons of emergency food stored in Dubai as it neared expiration.

According to Reuters, while 622 tons were successfully redirected to countries including Syria, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, another 496 tons — valued at $793,000 — were destroyed, with an additional $100,000 in disposal costs.

The incident occurred as part of a broader restructuring of U.S. foreign aid policy. In early July, the Trump administration officially dissolved USAID, transferring authority over development and humanitarian programs to the State Department. That shift has been accompanied by efforts to rescind billions of dollars in foreign assistance.

A temporary aid pause in January prompted the former State Department inspector general to warn that as much as $500 million worth of food aid was at risk of expiring. However, the department says assistance is now back online under a restructured model.

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With USAID phased out, the State Department is now responsible for managing large-scale aid programs, and it is under pressure to deliver. Lawmakers and aid groups are closely watching to see whether the newly reprogrammed food aid reaches intended recipients.

Democrats seized on the incineration reports during congressional hearings this week, accusing the Trump administration of turning its back on urgent humanitarian needs. The reports were first published by The Atlantic.

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined the administration’s vision for foreign assistance, saying he was abandoning what he called a "charity-based model" in favor of empowering growth and self-reliance in developing nations.

"We will favor those nations that have demonstrated both the ability and willingness to help themselves," Rubio wrote, "and will target our resources to areas where they can have a multiplier effect and catalyze durable private sector — including American companies — and global investment."

The new approach is designed to emphasize trade and investment over direct aid, and to position the U.S. to better counter China’s growing global influence.

The Biden-Harris administration is accused of misusing taxpayer dollars to fund protests in Israel against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prior to Oct. 7. 

The House Judiciary Committee recently released a memo outlining the allegations and showing a possible money trail.

"The Committee’s oversight has revealed that the Biden-Harris Administration provided grant funds to groups that contributed directly and indirectly to the judicial reform protests that sought to undermine the Israeli government," the committee wrote in the memo.

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Netanyahu shared one of the charts from the memo on his X account and decried the "massive foreign intervention in an attempt to replace the right-wing government in Israel."

"An official document published by the U.S. Congress reveals astonishing information that confirms what many have long suspected: the previous U.S. administration transferred nearly a billion dollars to left-wing NGOs in Israel, with the aim of undermining the rule of the government," Netanyahu wrote in Hebrew.

APP USERS CLICK HERE TO READ THE MEMO

In March, the House Judiciary Committee and the Committee on Foreign Affairs sent letters to six American and Israeli NGOs asking for "documents related to any grants, cooperative agreements, or other awards received from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) or State Department." According to the Judiciary Committee’s memo, the organizations have produced a total of 380 documents so far.

The six NGOs were Blue White Future (BWF), Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG), PEF Israel Endowment Funds, Jewish Communal Fund (JCF), Middle East Peace Dialogue Network (MEPDN) and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

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Before Hamas' attacks on Oct. 7, Israel was embroiled in an internal battle over judicial reform measures. This sparked a heated debate and widespread protests throughout the country. The House Judiciary Committee noted that then-President Joe Biden condemned the reform measures and appeared to express support for the protests.

"Like many strong supporters of Israel, I'm very concerned. I'm concerned that they get this straight. They cannot continue down this road. I've sort of made that clear," Biden told reporters in March 2023, according to CNN. Part of the quote also appears in the memo.

The committee claims BWF received funds from NGOs, including some U.S. grant recipients, and funded the coalition headquarters for the protests. Additionally, the committee alleges the Biden-Harris administration gave $42,000 to MQG to conduct activism training in Israeli high schools.

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PEF Israel Endowment Funds is accused in the memo of providing over $884M to groups involved in anti-democracy protests. Similarly, the committee said the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors "likely provided portions of its $20 million in federal grants" to groups funding the protests. Additionally, the committee questions whether MEPDN violated its 501(c)(3) status "by funding anti-democracy protest."

When it comes to JCF, the committee claims the organization gave over $42.8M to the protest headquarters and the two main funders of the protests.

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The committee noted in the memo that the investigation is ongoing and that more American and Israeli NGOs will be added.

Fox News Digital reached out to the six NGOs mentioned in the memo and did not receive responses in time for publication.