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."
"What you're basically doing is eviscerating the most important tool of American influence in the developing world, which is our development program," Natsios said.
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.