The Trump administration sent $230 million to Lebanon in a last minute action to save the funds from expiring during a government shutdown, assistance that helps protect a fragile ceasefire between that country and Israel. 

The funds are aimed at strengthening the Lebanese Armed Forces in its push to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed political and military force severely weakened by Israeli actions, but not fully defeated. 

“Yesterday we were able to get through roughly $230 million…,” a Democratic congressional aide told reporters in a briefing on Oct. 1.

“It’s not a huge amount, but for a small country like Lebanon that’s really significant.”

Reuters reported that $190 million went to the Lebanese Armed Forces and $40 million went to the Internal Security Forces. 

A State Department spokesperson said U.S. assistance supports Lebanon’s armed forces “as they work to assert Lebanese sovereignty across the country and fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the only viable framework for a durable security arrangement for both Lebanese and Israelis.”

U.N.S.C. 1701 was the 2006 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah attacked Israel after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack, leading to over a year of cross border fighting. The U.S. brokered a ceasefire between the Lebanese government and Israel in November 2024 that is contingent on the Lebanese military disarming Hezbollah. 

The Democratic congressional aide said the last-minute appropriations to Lebanon helps the government follow through on the terms of the ceasefire, and also raised it as an example of successful bipartisan work.

The U.S. government shut down on Wednesday because of bitter fighting between Republicans and Democrats, which could have endangered the funding and highlights a potentially dangerous consequence of a shutdown on America’s foreign policy and security priorities.

Ed Gabriel, president and CEO of the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL), said the funds will allow the Lebanese government and the LAF to “enhance” their work of clearing Hezbollah from south of the Litani river and begin operations in the Bekaa Valley and north of the Litani river. 

“I think the challenge for the Lebanese government is to get the resources necessary to finish the disarmament job in the coming year, with an emphasis to complete south of the Litani [river] within the next few months,” Gabriel said, speaking with The Hill in a phone call from Beirut. 

Gabriel was in Beirut for a trip that was supposed to include members of Congress, who would have met with top Lebanese officials to see first-hand how U.S. dollars are being put to work. The ATFL is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on supporting strong U.S.-Lebanese relations. 

“It was a timely opportunity to bring the members of Congress in so that they could convey very strong messages to the Lebanese Government about moving forward at an increased speed, but also to thank them for the work to date, which is always needed in order to enhance the trust factor of moving ahead,” Gabriel said.

“So it was a perfect time for that to happen. It’s too bad it didn’t.”

Stability in Lebanon is a key priority for President Trump as part of his overall push for “eternal peace” in the Middle East – beginning with resolving Israel’s war in Gaza. The effort is ultimately about ending Iran’s influence in the region and brokering ties between Jerusalem and its neighbors. 

“I think the administration definitely has in their eyesight the ultimate goal of peace between Lebanon and Israel. It’s pretty clear,” Gabriel said. 

“From the Lebanese side, they would say that their ultimate goal is a stable, prosperous Lebanon at peace with all their neighbors. So they both have used the word peace, with different emphases.”

Tom Barrack, Trump’s ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, has also taken on the Lebanon file, having traveled to Beirut with Morgan Ortagus, formerly Trump’s deputy special envoy for the Middle East and now counselor of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. 

In August, Barrack helped staff a trip to Beirut with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a top Trump ally. 

Shaheen, speaking from Beirut, said strengthening the armed forces and advancing financial reforms were key U.S. priorities for the country. 

Graham, in more combative remarks, put the onus on Beirut to disarm Hezbollah despite ongoing Israeli military actions in the south of the country, which are criticized as violating the terms of the ceasefire. 

“Whether they [Israel] withdraw or not, it depends on what you [Lebanon] do. So don’t tell me anymore, ‘We’re not going to disarm Hezbollah until Israel does something.’ If that’s the model, you’re going to fail,” Graham said. 

“This country is going backward, not forward. If you don’t follow through with disarming the Palestinians and Hezbollah and making the Lebanese army the central repository of arms for the nation, if you don’t do that, you’re going nowhere.”