WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, penned this op-ed in the Washington Times arguing that Congress must step up to help the Trump administration hold the International Monetary Fund (IMF) accountable for its dangerous lending practices.
Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:
“Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently argued that the United States must play a bigger role in global multinational organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, not a smaller role. He’s right, and Congress needs to join in this effort.
“For several years, the IMF has acted more like a social justice fan club than a financial institution. It has strayed far from its original mission of promoting global monetary cooperation and economic stability by focusing on gender issues and climate change.
“However, the problems at the IMF extend well beyond a failure to adhere to its mission. By making irresponsible lending decisions, the IMF has actively facilitated global instability by doling out billions of dollars to countries that promote terrorism and genocide.”
. . .
“Given that the U.S. is the IMF’s single largest financial contributor, this allocation was essentially a handout funded by American taxpayers to many countries that hate us. China received a roughly $38.3 billion dividend, Russia collected $16.2 billion, and Iran raked in $4.5 billion.”
. . .
“I introduced the No Dollars for Dictators Act to require congressional approval before a single penny’s worth of funding from the IMF goes to perpetrators of genocide or state sponsors of terrorism. Congress cannot sit on the sidelines while American tax dollars pour into the pockets of terrorists and dictators.
“The Biden administration showed the world what chaos can unfold when the U.S. fails to put its interests first. The Trump administration is right to remind the IMF and organizations like it that America’s interests will not take a back seat to the whims of activists.”
Read Kennedy’s full op-ed here. Full text of the No Dollars for Dictators Act of 2025 is available here.
