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Oklahoma Senator James Lankford joined Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton and more than two dozen Republican senators this week in urging President Donald Trump to completely dismantle the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, better known as UNRWA. The senators argue the agency has become hopelessly compromised by ties to Hamas and other terrorist organizations, despite continuing to receive millions from the United Nations budget each year. In their letter, lawmakers pointed to investigations alleging some UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks against Israel, which is the sort of workplace misconduct issue that normally gets more than a strongly worded email from HR.

The senators also accused UNRWA of allowing Hamas to exploit its facilities, supplies, and even educational materials, saying the organization has helped maintain the infrastructure that keeps terrorism alive in Gaza. The group urged the Trump administration to pressure the UN into eliminating the agency entirely and replacing it with aid organizations they say are transparent and free from terrorist influence. Critics will likely argue dismantling the agency risks worsening humanitarian conditions, while supporters counter that sending taxpayer-backed funding into an organization accused of employing terrorists might not be the brilliant diplomatic move some international bureaucrats seem to think it is.