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Ranking Members Gregory Meeks and Jamie Raskin sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio seeking extensive records and explanations about the Board of Peace, according to a press release issued by the House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats. The inquiry focuses on the entity’s legal status, control of its finances and the administration’s basis for involving U.S. taxpayer resources in the initiative that has not received explicit congressional authorization. Meeks and Raskin emphasized the need for clarity on how billions of dollars from American and foreign sources would be managed to prevent potential misuse.
The Board of Peace emerged from President Trump’s comprehensive plan to resolve the Gaza conflict, a Reuters report from July 2026 explained. Trump designated himself chairman for life under the body’s charter, which allows him to appoint the executive board, veto decisions and issue binding directives while expanding its scope beyond Gaza to other global conflicts. The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2803 in 2025 to recognize the board as a transitional administrator for Gaza redevelopment, though major powers including China and Russia have stayed outside the initiative.
Trump pledged $10 billion in U.S. funds to the Board earlier in 2026, and the State Department attempted to transfer an additional $50 million before withdrawing the move amid congressional questions it could not immediately address, the Democrats’ release stated. Morocco and the United Arab Emirates have transferred more than $100 million while Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have pledged billions more, according to the same announcement. The World Bank maintains a contributions account yet disclaims ownership over ultimate expenditures, permitting donors to route payments directly into the Board’s private accounts at J.P. Morgan.
Under the charter, the Board operates with minimal public disclosure of its receipts and spending despite the scale of resources involved, the ranking members reported. Allies of the administration, including Jared Kushner, have promoted investment prospects in postwar Gaza and outlined redevelopment concepts featuring luxury real estate that could generate substantial value, multiple news outlets have detailed. The administration separately pursued international-organization immunity for the Board through federal register action even though no law or treaty has authorized formal U.S. participation.
“What is the Board of Peace? Is it a public or private entity? International or domestic? Is it registered as a corporation in the United States or abroad? What kind of corporation is it—for-profit or not-for-profit? Who controls the funds in its J.P. Morgan bank account? In what countries are those accounts located? Who will audit those funds and conduct oversight of the Board? What does President Trump intend to do with this vast slush fund while he is in office—or after he leaves? Can anyone assure Congress that billions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers and foreign governments will not be flowing into the pockets of President Trump, members of his family, corrupt and incompetent contractors or business partners, or political allies and foot soldiers of the President?” the ranking members wrote in the letter. They added that the Trump administration’s push to transfer taxpayer dollars to what they termed an opaque organization primed for corruption raises serious concerns that public funds could be misused by the president and his family and friends.
The current demand extends earlier oversight work by Judiciary Committee Democrats who questioned why U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires filed trademark applications on the Board’s behalf in violation of typical federal restrictions. Squires withdrew the filings after Raskin sent three successive letters pressing for explanations and related records, yet the director has still not furnished the requested materials detailing who instructed him to act. Those exchanges exposed broader frictions over the intersection of official government functions and the privately influenced Board structure.
A Council on Foreign Relations assessment placed the overall cost of rebuilding Gaza above $70 billion, underscoring the stakes as the Board coordinates reconstruction alongside a Palestinian-led National Committee for the Administration of Gaza. The body convened its first meeting in February 2026 in Washington and has since published roadmaps that prioritize disarmament, security sector reform and supervised economic recovery under its oversight. Lawmakers continue to press for answers on contract approval processes, expenditure controls and the precise legal authority supporting American engagement with the entity.
