House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith convened a blistering hearing on what he called “malign foreign influence” in American nonprofits, and the groups under scrutiny answered with louder rhetoric, not retreats. Lawmakers stepped through letters and testimony they say trace “money trails” and influence operations tied to a network centered on Neville Roy Singham. Outside the hearing room, activists and allied organizations amplified anti-American narratives while the committee warned of national security risks.
Smith opened the session with a blunt line: “This is not politics. It’s about national security,” and formally titled the hearing “Foreign Influence in American Nonprofits: Unmasking Threats from Beijing.” He told colleagues the committee was focused on the financial and operational links that allow foreign actors to seed narratives inside American civic space. The message from the dais was clear: the tax-exempt sector should not become a back door for foreign influence.
Behind the scenes and online, groups tied to Neville Roy Singham, a tech figure born in the U.S. who lives in Shanghai, pushed back with defiant messaging. Those groups, critics say, echoed talking points that line up with the Chinese Communist Party and other authoritarian allies. Committee members argued that when nonprofits adopt those narratives without transparency, it creates a vulnerability the nation cannot afford.
CodePink, co-founded by Singham’s wife Jodie Evans, was accusing the United States of enabling atrocities abroad. On its social account, CodePink shared an article claiming Israel had “evaporated” Palestinians in Gaza, concluding: “Horrors beyond comprehension — made possible by the United States.” That kind of rhetoric, lawmakers warned, mirrors narratives pushed by hostile actors and escalates tensions inside the country.
Members noted that CodePink activists often interrupt hearings and stage confrontations, yet for this session they stayed off the room’s floor even as their name came up repeatedly in testimony. Smith waved letters he had issued the night before demanding records from BreakThrough BT Media and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, both entities the committee tied to Singham. The letters asked for donor and sponsorship details as part of a broader look at whether nonprofits were functioning as messaging hubs for foreign agendas.
BreakThrough News posted protest footage from San Francisco showing teachers picketing and drones capturing the scene, including a bold yellow-and-black placard reading “MAKE THE BILLIONAIRES PAY.” Videos and posts streaming from that ecosystem showcased anti-U.S. narratives in real time, with demonstrators shouting demands and praise for radical positions. Those public displays, committee members argued, are part of a coordinated ecosystem that amplifies select talking points.
Experts on the panel put the pattern in stark terms. “This is engineered subversion,” Network Contagion Research Institute co-founder Adam Sohn told lawmakers, illustrating how foreign-aligned narratives move through ostensibly domestic organizations. Sohn warned that “They don’t need spies anymore,” and added, “They can use nonprofits,” like a Trojan horse, to “launder” their propaganda. That testimony framed the issue as technique more than ideology—the weapon is influence, not necessarily covert agents.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation kept up public agitation, promoting street actions and posting footage heralding victories with slogans like “WE WILL WIN!” At the same time, Democratic Socialists of America added its voice in a different register and widely where it praised the Super Bowl halftime performance by the Puerto Rican sensation “Bad Bunny,” as “a damning critique of the harms of U.S. colonial policies.” The group also declared, “As socialists in the U.S.,” and added, “It is our duty to support the struggles of peoples across the world suffering from the full weight of U.S. imperialism.”
Scott Walter of the Capital Research Center testified that “foreigners abuse this sector in order to hide their influence ops,” a line that resonated with Republican members focused on accountability. Smith reminded the room again, “This committee is investigating money trails,” and repeated the national security frame: “This is about national security.” Several lawmakers told witnesses the committee needs suspicious financial channels and fiscal sponsorship arrangements explained and closed if they facilitate covert influence.
The People’s Forum circulated a “Call to Conscience demanding an end to Trump’s assault on Cuba,” while lawmakers accused activists of engaging in “digital laundering operations” to repackage foreign narratives as grassroots. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and others highlighted how reposting and repackaging can make foreign talking points appear homegrown, complicating enforcement and public awareness. That digital choreography, officials said, undercuts the credibility of legitimate civil society work.
Students for Justice in Palestine, linked in various ways to the broader network, urged supporters to “END ALL OCCUPATIONS,” a slogan pushed across campuses and digital channels. By 1:45 p.m., after hours of testimony and pointed questioning, Smith closed the session and said, “The committee stands adjourned.” Even as the gavel fell, the online campaign and scheduled events pressed on, with Democratic Socialists of America a “Call to Conscience” to end the Trump administration’s “cruel blockade on Cuba,” and the People’s Forum moving forward with a Tuesday night program that an evening discussing the “Hidden Histories of Rebellion in the US.”
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Graduate Student, wife, engaged political and legal writer.