A REPUBLICAN congressman Scott Perry who sparked controversy in Nigeria after alleging that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded Boko Haram and other terrorist groups has lost his re-election bid in Pennsylvania, United States.
Perry, who represented Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives, was defeated by Democratic challenger Janelle Stelson, a former television news anchor, in the November 3, 2026, midterm elections.
According to results reported by the Associated Press and compiled by Ballotpedia, Stelson secured 56.5 per cent of the votes, or 150,213, against Perry’s 43.5 per cent, representing 115,537 votes.
The Associated Press called the race for Stelson on Tuesday night, giving Democrats a Republican-held seat in a district that President Donald Trump won by five percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.
Perry’s defeat came nearly two years after he narrowly defeated Stelson in their first contest in November 2024. He secured 50.5 per cent of the votes against her 49.3 per cent, a margin of just over one percentage point.
Trump alliance, election denial
Perry’s close association with Trump became a major issue in the campaign, with Stelson portraying the Republican lawmaker as an ally of a president whose popularity had weakened in the district.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, a poll conducted by the newspaper, The New York Times and Siena College in October found that 56 per cent of voters in the district disapproved of Trump’s performance, while 43 per cent approved.
Stelson also reportedly highlighted Perry’s role in efforts to challenge the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, when Trump lost to Joe Biden,
The US House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol documented Perry’s involvement in efforts to install then-Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark as acting attorney general.
According to the committee’s final report, Perry worked with Clark, Trump and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to get Clark elevated so he could reverse the Justice Department’s findings on election fraud and help overturn the election result.
The committee’s report also documented Perry’s communications with former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows as Trump and his allies sought to remain in power after the election.
During the 2026 campaign, Stelson repeatedly described Perry as an election denier. The Inquirer reported that some voters cited his role in the post-election efforts as a reason for opposing him.
One voter, David Koppenhoffer, told the newspaper that Perry had tried to overturn the government and later sought a presidential pardon.
Cost of living and healthcare concerns
Beyond Perry’s political record, several voters were reportedly concerned about the economy and cost of living in the current administration.
Voters in the district identified the economy and cost of living as major issues, with concerns about the prices of groceries, fuel and other everyday necessities shaping the campaign.
Stelson criticised Perry’s support for Trump’s policies, including his vote for the president’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which reduced funding for Medicaid and food assistance while providing tax breaks.
Meghan Getz, an elementary school teacher who voted for Stelson, told the Inquirer that she preferred the Democrat’s positions on Medicaid and food assistance.
Other voters, however, supported Perry’s alignment with Trump, particularly his position on tariffs and efforts to revive American manufacturing.
USAID allegation that stirred controversy in Nigeria
The congressman attracted international attention in February 2025 when he alleged that USAID, the American government’s foreign assistance agency, had funded Boko Haram, the Islamic State and other terrorist organisations.
He made the allegation during the inaugural hearing of the US Congress Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) on February 13, 2025.
During a presentation titled, ‘The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud’, Perry questioned how American taxpayers’ money was being spent by USAID.
He alleged that the agency’s funding, including cash shipments to Islamic schools, had supported terrorist organisations and training camps.
In the video that went viral, Perry queried, “Who gets some of that money? Does that name ring a bell to anybody in the room? Because your money, your money, $697 million annually, plus the shipments of cash funds in Madrasas, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS Khorasan, and terrorist training camps. That’s what it’s funding.”
However, Perry did not present evidence linking USAID to Boko Haram or the other terrorist organisations.
Perry also claimed that USAID spent $136 million to build 120 schools in Pakistan, but there was no evidence that the schools were ever constructed.
The allegation prompted reactions in Nigeria, including calls by senators representing parts of the country affected by insurgency for security chiefs to explain whether the claims had any basis.
The US Ambassador to Nigeria at the time, Richard Mills, subsequently rejected the allegation, saying there was no evidence that USAID funding had been diverted to Boko Haram or any other terrorist organisation.
Mills said the US had strict procedures to prevent its assistance from reaching terrorist groups and would investigate any evidence of diversion in collaboration with Nigerian authorities.
Perry was also asked by Nigerian human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe to provide evidence or retract the allegation.
In a response dated March 26, 2025, reported by Premium Times, Perry did not address the specific claim that USAID funded Boko Haram. Instead, he defended efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency to investigate alleged waste and irregularities in US government spending.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M