Samaritan’s Purse turns down $300M from State Department for humanitarian relief

(RNS) — Just three weeks ago, the U.S. State Department announced it had a plan to provide health and humanitarian assistance around the world through a pledge of $2 billion to faith-based and community organizations.

But now those plans have hit a snag.

Late last week, Samaritan’s Purse, the Christian humanitarian relief organization that was supposed to receive $300 million as part of the State Department grant, turned down the money, saying it will rely on God and its private donors instead.

“While we deeply appreciate the confidence that the State Department has placed in Samaritan’s Purse, after prayer and discussion, we have withdrawn from being a recipient of these funds,” Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, said in a statement Aug. 28.

Graham, one of President Trump’s most stalwart evangelical allies, did not offer any other reasons for rejecting the federal funds, which would have included “immediate life-saving assistance to people affected by natural disasters” and support for relief efforts in long-running emergencies. Graham noted that Samaritan’s Purse will continue to be available to partner with the U.S. government in the future — but…