Quick Read:

• The US House passed the FY2027 National Security, Department of State and Related Programs Appropriations Act in a 217-209 vote.
• The bill moves to cut foreign aid to Nigeria by 100 percent until Christian communities are demonstrably protected.
• An amendment by Rep. Jeff Steube raised the withholding threshold from 50 to 100 percent.
• The bill still needs Senate approval and Trump’s signature to become law.

The US House of Representatives has voted to cut foreign aid to Nigeria, passing a spending bill that ties American assistance to the country’s handling of violence against Christian communities.

The National Security, Department of State and Related Programs Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2027 scaled through the House on Wednesday by a narrow 217-209 vote. At the centre of the bill is a provision that would withhold all US assistance to Nigeria until Washington can certify that Abuja is taking real steps to shield Christians from religious violence.

The bill’s language demands accountability from “foreign governments and bad actors accountable for persecuting people of faith,” while also carving out support for religious freedom programmes abroad and legal protections for faith-based groups delivering aid overseas.

Republican lawmaker Riley Moore, who has previously accused Nigeria’s government of Christian genocide, led the push to move to cut foreign aid to Nigeria over what he described as insufficient action against Fulani Islamist terrorists in the Middle Belt. He framed the measure as part of the Trump administration’s approach of backing Nigeria’s fight to protect Christians while holding President Bola Tinubu’s government to account if it falls short.

Florida lawmaker Jeff Steube was also a key backer of the provision. Taking to X after the vote, he said American taxpayers “should NEVER bankroll governments that turn a blind eye while Christians are abducted, tortured, and murdered.” It was Steube who proposed the amendment raising the withholding threshold from an initial 50 percent to a full 100 percent, arguing that letting Nigeria keep half its assistance still rewarded a government he says has failed to protect its citizens. The House adopted the amendment.

The vote comes against a backdrop of tense but active US-Nigeria security cooperation. Despite pausing global foreign aid and dismantling USAID early in his administration, President Trump had still approved limited funding for Nigeria, including a $413 million counter-insurgency package in January and a delivery of military supplies weeks later following deadly Christmas attacks. Nigeria was also designated a Country of Particular Concern amid the persecution allegations, a claim the Nigerian government, alongside local and international rights groups, has repeatedly disputed, insisting that armed violence in the country affects people of all faiths, not Christians alone.

Both countries have nonetheless carried out joint counter-terrorism operations, including one that killed top ISWAP commander Abu-Bilal al-Minuki. The US also recently extracted a major cache of terrorist intelligence from a raid in Nigeria, still under review, while some Nigerians, including a Lagos-based bureau de change operator, have faced sanctions over alleged terrorism financing.

For now, the bill remains a proposal. It must still clear the Senate and receive President Trump’s signature before any move to cut foreign aid to Nigeria can take legal effect.