America First Legal | May 20, 2026
Today, America First Legal (AFL) and the U.S. Department of State settled Jackson et al. v. Trump et al., a case where AFL represented U.S. Congressman Ronny Jackson of Texas, and co-plaintiffs Stuart and Robbi (now deceased) Force, the parents of murdered American soldier Taylor Force, and Sarri Singer, a survivor of one of the largest terrorist bus bombings in Israeli history.
AFL filed this lawsuit against the Biden Administration on behalf of the plaintiffs in 2022 after the Biden Administration brazenly ignored the Taylor Force Act (TFA). This law cuts off certain U.S. funding that benefits the Palestinian Authority (PA) until the PA ends its “Pay to Slay” program. The PA, through this program, awards money to terrorists and their families for committing acts of terror against Americans and Israelis in Israel. These awards, funded through the PA’s Martyr Fund, increase in proportion to the severity of the terrorist’s act, with monthly stipends going to the terrorist or their family. In passing the TFA, Congress specifically included in its findings that the PA’s act of paying salaries to terrorists, as well as to the families of deceased terrorists, “is an incentive to commit acts of terror.”
President Trump signed the Taylor Force Act into law in 2018 and immediately cut off funds under the TFA. The Biden Administration, however, resumed payments to the PA, more than $1 billion of taxpayer funds to the PA, prompting AFL to file its lawsuit.
This settlement agreement ensures that the State Department will comply with the Taylor Force Act and binds the government for the next ten years. It clarifies the factors the Secretary of State may consider to determine whether specific aid “directly benefits” the Palestinian Authority. This settlement is a major step toward enforcing the Taylor Force Act and preventing taxpayer funds from financing terrorism, aligning with President Trump’s commitment to promoting peace at home and abroad. AFL is grateful for Secretary of State Rubio’s leadership in executing President Trump’s priorities and ensuring the State Department upholds federal law.
“President Trump is the President of peace, and this settlement continues his legacy. Taylor Force was an American hero whose life was stolen by an act of terror. Congress passed the Taylor Force Act to ensure that American taxpayers would never be forced to subsidize the Palestinian Authority’s grotesque system of rewarding terrorists and their families,” said Gene Hamilton, President of America First Legal. “The Biden Administration betrayed that mandate. This settlement, secured alongside the Trump Administration, is an important victory for the rule of law, for victims of terrorism, and for the principle that America must never finance terror.”
“This is a significant victory in enforcing the rule of law. Congress correctly found that paying for terror only encourages it, and the Trump Administration has been consistent in its position that U.S. taxpayers will not be complicit in the brutality and murder of innocents. By signing the TFA over eight years ago, President Trump made clear in his first administration that the United States would not fund acts of terror emblematic of the PA’s heinous Pay to Slay program, a position he holds to this day,” said Julie Alexa Strauss, General Counsel at America First Legal. “President Trump’s signing and enforcing the Taylor Force Act was a major step toward ensuring Taylor Force’s tragic sacrifice was not in vain. AFL’s victory with this settlement means that the State Department’s compliance will be durable and enforced by court order.”
“Today’s settlement is a win for the victims and families harmed by the Palestinian Authority’s Pay to Slay program, as well as for the American people, and my co-plaintiffs in particular,” said Congressman Ronny Jackson. “When President Trump signed the Taylor Force Act into law in 2018, the United States made clear it would not tolerate or reward terrorism—yet Joe Biden’s decision to ignore that law put American lives at risk. I’m grateful the Trump Administration has taken decisive action to correct this failure, honor the legacy of Taylor Force, and help ensure no American family endures such a loss again. And, I am proud to represent the good people of Texas, who I know stand strongly for the rule of law.”
“Today is a good day. This settlement agreement with the State Department reinvigorates the Taylor Force Act after the Biden Administration ignored the law,” said Stuart Force. “The Act, signed into U.S. law by President Trump in March 2018, was the result of the hard work of many groups and individuals, and I will always be extremely grateful for their efforts, guidance, support, and friendship.”
“Today is also a bittersweet day. My wife, Robbi, is not here to share the good news. As we tirelessly worked with Congress years ago to pass this federal law to stop the flow of taxpayer dollars to the Palestinian Authority and their Pay to Slay program, Robbi was also fighting medical challenges due to the loss of our Taylor. Her inner strength amazed and inspired me and many others.”
“I am grateful to the entire team at America First Legal for making the Taylor Force Act once again an effective tool in the fight against the horrific Pay for Slay program. Today is truly a good day,” Stuart Force added.
“This case has always been about one simple principle: terrorism should never be rewarded, and stopping economic support funds to the PA unless Pay to Slay has ended,” said Sarri Singer. “As a victim of terrorism and a survivor of a Hamas bus bombing, I have lived with the painful reality that the person who carried out the attack against me is not only honored, but that his family receives monthly payments because of that act of violence. That is not just policy; it is deeply personal, and no victim should ever have to live with it. This settlement brings a level of accountability and helps ensure that the U.S. is not contributing, even indirectly, to incentivizing terror.”
AFL is honored to represent these plaintiffs and to have helped achieve this important victory. At a time of turbulence around the world, this settlement with the State Department reaffirms one of the Trump Administration’s highest priorities: achieving peace at home and abroad. AFL is proud to support that priority and remains committed to upholding the rule of law. In this case, it is particularly gratifying to help ensure that Americans can travel abroad safely in the knowledge that their tax dollars are not being used to fund genocidal terrorists.
Read the full settlement agreement here.
Learn more about this case here.
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