Republicans balk at Trump plan to slash State Dept budget
"It's dead on arrival, it's not going to happen," said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham about US President Donald Trump's reported plan to slash State Department funding PHOTO|AFP
What you need to know:
- "It's dead on arrival, it's not going to happen," said the hawkish Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who chairs the Senate appropriations subcommittee on state and foreign operations.
- It is imperative that the use of "soft power" continues to be a national security priority, he stressed, saying that if Trump unveils a plan to drastically cut funding for foreign assistance, "Congress will reject it."
Washington, United States | AFP |.Multiple Republican lawmakers on Tuesday warned that President Donald Trump's reported plan to slash State Department funding by more than a third would face stiff opposition in Congress.
"It's dead on arrival, it's not going to happen," said the hawkish Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who chairs the Senate appropriations subcommittee on state and foreign operations.
It is imperative that the use of "soft power" continues to be a national security priority, he stressed, saying that if Trump unveils a plan to drastically cut funding for foreign assistance, "Congress will reject it."
The Wall Street Journal and other US media reported on Tuesday that the Trump administration is proposing to cut the budget of the State Department and US Agency for International Development by 37 percent to help offset the White House's proposed $54 billion boost in defense spending.
Most of the cuts would target foreign aid programs, the administration has said.
"So we will be spending less overseas and spending more back home," the new White House budget director, Mick Mulvaney, said Monday.
But Congress controls the federal government's purse strings, and top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell did not sound receptive.
Could a budget that slashes such elements by a third pass the Senate? "Probably not," he told reporters.
"The diplomatic portion of the federal budget is very important," and often costs far less to achieve progress than on the defense side, McConnell said, adding he was "not in favor" of reducing State's diplomacy and foreign aid budget.
The current year's State Department and USAID budget is around $50 billion, a miniscule amount of the overall $3 trillion-plus federal budget.
Senator Marco Rubio, who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, also expressed opposition to slashing funds.
"Foreign Aid is not charity," he tweeted. "We must make sure it is well spent, but it is less than one percent of budget & critical to our national security."
