WASHINGTON, D.C. — After placing a dramatic 90-day freeze on nearly all U.S. foreign aid programs, President Trump has made just one high-profile exception: a $19 million reimbursement to Samaritan’s Purse, the evangelical relief organization led by longtime supporter and occasional White House prayer leader Franklin Graham.

The pause, which Trump said was necessary “to shake things up and hold people accountable,” caused massive financial setbacks for hundreds of faith-based nonprofits. But Graham, who called the freeze “very good” and “long overdue,” quietly accepted the multimillion-dollar refund while maintaining his public approval of the decision.

“We still believe foreign aid needs to be scrutinized,” said Graham, speaking from a warehouse stocked with newly reimbursed medical supplies. “But we also believe in being good stewards of taxpayer dollars… when they’re given to us.”

Blessed Are the Reimbursed

When asked why Samaritan’s Purse had received funding while others hadn’t, a Trump administration official said the decision came down to “lifesaving humanitarian need… and Franklin’s ability to lay hands on people while cameras are rolling.”

Graham, who has previously compared foreign aid to enabling sin, said this situation was “completely different” because Samaritan’s Purse spent the money before it was frozen — a practice Jesus may have referred to as faith-based line-item reimbursement.

“This isn’t about hypocrisy,” he clarified. “This is about Sudan.”

Meanwhile, Other Ministries… Wait

Ministries like World Vision, which rely on USAID for nearly half of their annual revenue, have not received similar reimbursements. “We applied the same day,” said one unnamed leader. “We even attached a screenshot of our prayer group. But I guess we didn’t tag the right people.”

A spokesperson for Samaritan’s Purse said that while the organization typically receives only 4% of its funding from federal sources, that 4% still “feels led” to be delivered quickly, directly, and in large round numbers.

Spiritual Consistency, Now Available in Installments

Though Graham has previously warned against the danger of government entanglement with ministry, he maintained that the funding arrangement with Trump was “no different than the ravens feeding Elijah — if the ravens were appointed by executive order.”

Asked whether receiving USAID money contradicted his support for cutting foreign aid, Graham replied,

“The Bible says not to let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. In this case, my right hand just deposited the check.”