Paula White-Cain
In 2024, Paula White Ministries reported $166,810 in income and $180,836 in expenses, with $143,693 paid to White-Cain as compensation. YouTube: Paula White Ministries

Trump's personal spiritual adviser, Paula White-Cain, is urging followers to give 10% of their gross income to her ministry, which partly funds projects in Israel. But the viral tithe video is only the latest in a pattern of solicitation controversies, and it isn't even the most alarming part.

The Commission Member Who Said 'Genocide'

What most outlets aren't covering is that White-Cain recently played a direct role in forcing former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean Boller off Trump's Religious Liberty Commission. Boller's offence, according to Baptist News Global, was suggesting Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.

Boller, a conservative Catholic and longtime Trump supporter, told Tucker Carlson that White-Cain and commission chairman Dan Patrick warned her to stop posting about Israel and Gaza on social media. Boller said Patrick told her that her 'job on this commission is to protect the president and his reputation.' White-Cain then asked Boller to run all future posts through her for approval before publishing them.

Boller was terminated from the commission on 12 March 2026 through what she described as a brief email from a White House staffer. US Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, has since asked the House Judiciary and Oversight committees to investigate whether the commission engaged in viewpoint discrimination and retaliation against protected speech.

The Tithe Video and the Missing Sports Complex

In a YouTube video published on Sunday, White-Cain told viewers to 'honor God with his tithe' by giving the 'first tenth of your gross income' to her ministry. She tied the appeal to her organisation's relief work at Moshav Ein HaBesor, a small farming community near the Gaza border that was hit during the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks.

Paula White Ministries says it partnered with CityServe Israel to deliver school supplies, washing machines, a security drone, and medical access for affected residents. The ministry is also fundraising to build a sports complex at the site for children, it says, who have been 'severely traumatised'.

However, as Newsweek reported, there are no public updates on the ministry's website about whether construction of the complex has begun. The donation page for the project remains active.

Three Solicitation Controversies in One Year

The tithe video is at least the third major fundraising row involving White-Cain in roughly 12 months. During Passover 2025, she released a video promising 'seven supernatural blessings' for donors who gave $1,000 (£757) to her ministry. A premium gift tier included a Waterford crystal cross. Country singer Stella Parton publicly called the offer a 'grifter scam'.

In a separate appeal, White-Cain urged her congregation to donate an entire month's salary as a 'first fruits' offering, warning of 'consequences' for those who didn't give. Her ministry later said she had been describing her own personal practice.

Financial Transparency and the Church-State Question

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990 filings show Paula White Ministries reported just $166,810 (£126,355) in total income for 2024 and $180,836 (£136,980) in expenses. Of that spending, $143,693 (£108,845) went to White-Cain as compensation. The Trinity Foundation has said the ministry avoids broader financial disclosure by operating as an 'integrated auxiliary of a church.'

Conservative Trump supporter Jon Root told NOTUS that anyone who 'holds true to strong biblical conviction and discernment wouldn't be involved with Paula White.'

White-Cain's dual position as head of the White House Faith Office and leader of a private ministry soliciting Israel-linked donations raises questions about where government advisory work ends and personal religious fundraising begins.

Those questions carry extra weight as the US is engaged in military conflict with Iran over the same region where the ministry operates.

White-Cain has not publicly responded to the latest round of criticism.

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