Waste of the Day: California Funds Hamas-Adjacent Group

Topline: The Council on American-Islamic Relations has had a turbulent relationship with U.S. politicians. The nonprofit was recently designated as a terrorist organization in Texas, and a House bill sponsored by Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) would do the same at the federal level. 

But California continues to fund CAIR

Not every state has taken the same approach. CAIR has received $30.8 million in federal, state and local taxpayer dollars since 2020, according to Open the Books’ database. Nearly all of the money came from California. 

Key facts: CAIR’s stated mission is to “enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims,” but it has been a controversial group for decades.

CAIR was named as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in a 2008 trial that accused the nonprofit Holy Land Foundation of funneling $12 million to the terrorist group Hamas. Though CAIR was never charged with a crime, a U.S. district judge ruled there was “ample evidence” to “establish the association” between CAIR and Hamas.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation ended its liaison relationship and stopped formal contacts with CAIR following the trial.

President Joe Biden condemned CAIR’s Director Nihad Awad in 2023 after Awad said he was “happy to see” the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in which Hamas killed over 1,200 Israelis. 

When Biden announced this May that he has prostate cancer, Zahra Billoo, the executive director of CAIR’s San Francisco branch, celebrated the news. Billoo said she prays Biden’s cancer is “as aggressive” as Israel’s military actions against Hamas, and promised that Donald Trump’s “time will come too.” Billoo serves on the California government’s Civil Liberties Program advisory panel.

Taxpayers’ money flowing since 2020

Taxpayer dollars have continued to flow to CAIR, including $20 million since 2020 from the State of California for grants and consulting contracts. Over $15 million of that came from federal block grants that California chose to send to CAIR instead of other nonprofits, including $10 million as recently as July 14, 2025, according to state fiscal data.

Open the Books’ data also shows the University of California, Los Angeles, and University of California, San Diego, collectively sent $8.1 million to CAIR in 2023 and 2024. Eight local governments in California, including Sacramento and San Jose, gave a total of $1.8 million since 2020.

The state governments of Washington and Pennsylvania, as well as local governments including New York City and Seattle, have made smaller payments to CAIR.

The New York funding could increase in the future, as the CAIR-funded super PAC, The Unity and Justice Fund PAC, was the largest institutional donor in New York of Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani.

Search all federal, state and local salaries and vendor spending with the world’s largest government spending database at OpenTheBooks.com. 

Summary: There are scores of nonprofits that deserve funding before money is sent to a group whose members openly spout radical, violent beliefs.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com

This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.