An American think tank has named US Ambassador to Singapore Anjani Sinha in a list of individuals who allegedly benefited from making contributions to US President Donald Trump’s political operations, pet projects and family firms.
Sinha made a US$1mil (RM4.09mil) donation to a political action committee (PAC) aligned with Trump, which he failed to disclose during his 2025 Senate confirmation hearing, said the report released by the Center for American Progress (CAP), a progressive think tank.
It quoted findings from the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington-based non-partisan legal organisation, to say that Sinha “gave US$1mil to MAGA Inc in February 2025 and was nominated to be Ambassador to Singapore the following month”.
It further notes that Sinha “failed to disclose this contribution to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee despite a legal obligation to do so”.
Checks by The Straits Times (ST) on the Federal Election Commission website showed that the donation was made on Feb 20, 2025.
A check of published congressional records related to Sinha’s confirmation hearing, however, did not show the million-dollar donation, although other donations made by him and his family members were listed.
ST asked the US Embassy in Singapore on Nov 10 to confirm the accuracy of the report. The embassy referred enquiries to the US State Department, which did not respond to requests for comment.
MAGA Inc is a super PAC founded on Sept 23, 2022, to support Trump and candidates aligned with his platform.
It can raise and spend unlimited sums of money independently to support or oppose political candidates, run television and digital advertisements and fund voter turnout efforts.
Trump announced Sinha as his nominee for Ambassador to Singapore on March 11, 2025, via a post on his Truth Social platform. It was received by the Senate at the end of April.
His confirmation hearing, a tempestuous affair during which senators criticised him for his for inadequate knowledge of US-Singapore relations, took place on July 9, 2025.
The US$1mil contribution was not reported to the public until MAGA Inc filed its mid-year report on July 31, 2025, after Sinha’s nomination was already reported favourably out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He was subsequently confirmed in a Senate vote on Oct 7, 2025.
It is a longstanding and common practice in the US for presidents to appoint their political backers, campaign donors and close allies to high-profile diplomatic posts, particularly as ambassadors and special envoys.
The CAP noted that its report was “not intended to assert quid-pro-quo corruption on the part of any individuals or entities – or, for that matter, the Trump administration – as political donations and access to – government officials are part of the firmament of how American politics and government function”. — The Straits Times/ANN
