Budget director confirmed on Saturday proposed cuts for the state department and USAID by about a third, to help fund expansion of US military budget

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The White House budget director confirmed on Saturday that the Trump administration will propose “fairly dramatic reductions” in the US foreign aid budget later this month.



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It was reported earlier this week that the administration plans to propose to Congress cuts in the budgets for the state department and Agency for International Development (USAID) by about one third.

“We are going to propose to reduce foreign aid and we are going to propose to spend that money here,” White House Office of Management Budget director Mick Mulvaney told Fox News, adding the proposed cuts would include “fairly dramatic reductions in foreign aid”.

Mulvaney said the cuts in foreign aid would help the administration fund a proposed $54bn expansion of the US military budget.

“The overriding message is fairly straightforward: less money spent overseas means more money spent here,” said Mulvaney, a former South Carolina Representative.

The US spends just over $50bn annually on the state department and USAID, compared with $600bn or more each year on the Pentagon. Several Republicans this week raised concerns about the planned cuts to the state department.

“I am very concerned by reports of deep cuts that could damage efforts to combat terrorism, save lives and create opportunities for American workers,” said Ed Royce, the chairman of the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee.

Furthermore, more than 120 retired US generals and admirals – including George Casey, former chief of staff of the army, and David Petraeus, former CIA director and commander of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan – sent a letter to Congress, urging it fully fund diplomacy and foreign aid.

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“Elevating and strengthening diplomacy and development alongside defense are critical to keeping America safe,” they said. “We know from our service in uniform that many of the crises our nation faces do not have military solutions alone.”



Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, tweeted earlier this week: “Foreign aid is not charity. We must make sure it is well spent, but it is less than 1% of budget & critical to our national security.”



A US government website said 20 government agencies plan to award $36.5bn in foreign assistance programs in more than 100 countries around the world during the current budget year.

Mulvaney said the Trump administration will release its budget proposal on 16 March. Reuters has reported the administration plans significant proposed cuts in many other domestic programs.



