U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s vineyard received $14 million in U.S. Agency for International Development funds for “experimental farming.”
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Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., center, is greeted upon her arrival Jan. 3, 2025, as the House of Representatives meets to elect a speaker and convene the new 119th Congress at the Capitol in Washington. (AP)
Nancy Pelosi didn’t get $14 million in USAID funding for “experimental farming” at her vineyard
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The claim originated on a website that describes its content as satire.
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The U.S. Agency for International Development has not distributed any money to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for her Saint Helena, California, vineyard.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., isn’t being paid $14 million in federal funds to revolutionize grape farming.
But if you’ve encountered these viral posts on social media, you might believe their claim that the United States Agency for International Development paid Pelosi for "experimental farming" at her St. Helena, California, vineyard.
"Nancy Pelosi's vineyard received $14 million in USAID funding," text on a Feb. 25 TikTok read. "In case you were wondering why she’s opposed to Congressional auditing."
Both TikTok and Meta identified these claims as part of their efforts to counter inauthentic, misleading or false content. (Read more about PolitiFact's partnerships with TikTok and Meta.)
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The claim that USAID funded Pelosi’s vineyard originated on America's Last Line of Defense, a satirical Facebook account that describes itself on its "about" page as a "network of trollery and propaganda for cash." The Facebook page claims to be run by "Busta Troll" — an alias of Christopher Blair, who has said he posts satire to intentionally trick conservatives into believing outlandish claims.
"Nothing on this page is real," reads a watermark that appears on the page’s posts.
But others sharing the claim did not include that disclaimer.
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USAID’s budget and spending records going back to 2001 show no evidence that the United States’ international humanitarian agency sent Pelosi or her vineyard any federal grants at all.
Searches of news archives returned no credible reports that Pelosi’s vineyard received money from the government, and required financial disclosures since Pelosi took office do not show a $14 million increase in assets associated with Pelosi’s Zinfandel Lane Vineyard.
Pelosi’s financial disclosures show she is paid an income by the vineyard, which also serves as her and husband Paul Pelosi’s second residence. The Pelosis sell grapes to other wineries; their vineyard does not produce wine. According to Pelosi’s 2024 financial disclosure, the couple made between $100,001 and $1,000,000 from grape sales that year.
We rate the claim that Pelosi’s vineyard received $14 million in USAID funding for ‘experimental farming’ False.
Our Sources
X post, Feb. 25, 2025
America’s Last Line of Defense, Facebook Post, Feb. 23, 2025
Dunning-Kruger Times, Nancy Pelosi’s Vineyard Secures Millions in Federal Grants for "Experimental Farming", Feb. 23, 2025
TikTok post, Feb. 25, 2025
X post, Feb. 24, 2025
Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi – 2024 Financial Disclosures, May 15, 2024
PolitiFact, If you're fooled by fake news, this man probably wrote it, May 31, 2017
The Guardian, Author of spoof story shared by Greg Abbott calls him one of ‘dumbest people in the country’, July 17, 2023
New York Times, Fake News Still Has a Home on Facebook, July 13, 2024
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Nancy Pelosi didn’t get $14 million in USAID funding for “experimental farming” at her vineyard
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