United States Secretary Of Health And Human Services Opens $30 Million CAIR Probe
United States Secretary Of Health And Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has opened an investigation into what happened to $30 million his department sent to CAIR for Afghan refugee resettlement. HHS sent letters on June 9 to the governors of California and Washington, putting the money and CAIR-California’s role under review.
The letters, written by HHS Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources Gustav Chiarello, said the department had received information that "raises concerns about the business practices and ethics of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and CAIR-California." Chiarello also wrote that "there may be connections between CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood and its Palestinian branch, Hamas."
June 9 HHS letters
Chiarello told Gavin Newsom and Bob Ferguson that HHS takes the allegations seriously because the department may not conduct business with entities tied to designated terrorist organizations. He wrote that the allegations are being investigated and could result in suspension and proposed debarment if proven. That puts the money flow at risk for CAIR-related groups that handled refugee resettlement work in California and Washington.
HHS said CAIR-CA’s most recent audit report for 2024 reported receiving $36.45 million from its Office of Refugee Resettlement. The department also said it traced roughly $1.3 million in Washington State to the CAIR-WA chapter from the Washington Department of Social and Health Services. Documents obtained by the Intelligent Advocacy Network said more than $40 million in federal Office of Refugee Resettlement funds were granted to CAIR-CA through the California Department of Social Services.
CAIR denies the allegations
CAIR denies having any ties to terror organizations and says it only operates in the United States. It also denies having any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The disputed money trail is drawing attention because millions of those dollars were administered under a self-oversight structure in which CAIR-LA served as program administrator responsible for overseeing its own subgrantees.
The same funding stream was already under scrutiny: the U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review began a probe last year into federal funds allocated to CAIR-California to help resettle Afghan refugees. From 2016 to 2025, about 43,000 Afghanis were resettled in California using special humanitarian visas, and HHS’s review now reaches into the organizations handling that work.
Federal refugee funds under review
The investigation lands after HHS said CAIR-CA received $36.45 million in 2024 and after the department traced funds to Washington as well as California. The practical issue for the groups involved is simple: if HHS’s allegations are proven, suspension or proposed debarment could cut off access to future federal business while the department decides whether the organizations can keep working with it.
