Senator Lee Introduces Legislation to Abolish U.S. African Development Foundation and Shift Duties to State Department

USADF's net federal outlays totaled $24.1 million in FY 2024 — equal to roughly 0.00036% of total federal spending

USADF awarded more than $141 million in grants to over 1,050 African-owned enterprises between 2019 and 2023, reporting an impact on 6.2 million people

A 2025 GAO audit found USADF had no strategic fraud risk management approach across FY 2020–2024, with many internal policies outdated and not reflecting actual practices

USADF's Director of Financial Management agreed to plead guilty in January 2026 to accepting $12,000 in cash gratuities and directing at least $617,625 in USADF funds to a pass-through contractor for little-to-no work

USADF received only 25% of the outside funding it pledged to leverage — $17 million of $69 million promised by 32 partners between FY 2022 and FY 2024