New portions of President Trump's budget blueprint obtained by Foreign Policy have revealed what exactly could get the ax if Trump's plan to slash funding for foreign aid were to get the stamp of approval from Congress. Apparently, Trump is eyeing merging USAID — an agency that focuses on issues like "disease prevention and food security" — with the larger State Department.
The change is pegged as a part of the administration's effort to put "America first" and "pursue greater efficiencies through reorganization and consolidation," but Foreign Policy noted the move could prove "polarizing." Andrew Natsios, the former USAID administrator under former President George W. Bush, warned folding USAID into the State Department "will end the technical expertise of USAID" and "be an unmitigated disaster for the longer term."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
USAID isn't the only program at risk of elimination. The budget plan also proposes slashing global health funding in 41 countries. The Bureau for Food Security could lose as much as 68 percent of its funding, and the State Department's Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs could say goodbye to nearly its entire budget.
The results could prove disastrous, experts warn. Some caution the cuts could curb U.S. influence abroad, put Americans "at risk in the event of a major epidemic," and even "pose concrete risks to U.S. security interests," Foreign Policy reported. "I've seen firsthand how U.S. development money saves millions of lives," said Tom Kenyon, CEO of the global health nonprofit Project Hope. "There's just no question people would die from this."
Read more on the specifics of Trump's plans at Foreign Policy.
-
Taiwan eyes Iron Dome-like defence against ChinaUnder the Radar President announces historic increase in defence spending as Chinese aggression towards autonomous island escalates
-
Political cartoons for November 30Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the Saudi-China relationship, MAGA spelled wrong, and more
-
Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover: ‘a right-leaning media powerhouse’Talking Point Deal gives Daily Mail and General Trust more than 50% of circulation in the UK newspaper market
-
US mints final penny after 232-year runSpeed Read Production of the one-cent coin has ended
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
