Trump's Plan to Cut US Diplomacy and Foreign Aid Budget by 28%

Donald Trump has proposed a 28% cut to the US diplomatic and foreign aid budget in his budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year. This bill also reduces funding for the United Nations and programs such as cultural exchange and climate change initiatives. Reuters reported on Thursday, March 16, that the US Congress, which is predominantly Republican, is likely to reject some of the cuts to the State Department and the International Development Agency in order to retain experts and foreign policy personnel, as well as to combat poverty, promote human rights, and improve healthcare conditions abroad. The White House has proposed a combined budget of $25.6 billion for the State Department and the International Development Agency, which is 28% less than the current budget. Previously, 120 retired generals and admirals in the United States had written to Congress requesting the full maintenance of the current foreign policy budget, emphasizing that this is vital for US security. Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader in the US Senate, has also stated that he will not support the drastic cuts to the State Department budget. However, Rex Tillerson, the US Secretary of State currently in Japan, defended the budget cuts on Thursday, stating that the budget of this agency needs reform and that a 'comprehensive review' should be conducted on how the State Department's programs have been executed so far. Reuters writes that the proposed budget bill for the next year specifies areas where costs should be reduced, one of which is the funds that the US pays to the United Nations and its affiliated organizations. The bill states that the United States expects these organizations to manage their budgets and that their expenses should be fairly distributed among all members. The US is the largest financial supporter of the United Nations, covering 22% of its $5.4 billion core budget and 28.5% of the $7.9 billion that the UN spends annually on establishing peace in various parts of the world. However, the proposed budget bill states that the US will not cover more than 25% of the UN's peacekeeping costs. This bill also reduces the budget for combating climate change, meaning that the US will spend less on UN programs related to this issue. Conversely, $54 billion will be added to the US military budget. The increase in the US military budget is one of the issues that Donald Trump promised during his election campaign and later emphasized that he intends to strengthen the military more than ever in history. In this regard, Donald Trump is calling for a '54 billion dollar increase' in the US defense budget. The opposition of the Senate majority leader to the drastic cuts in the State Department budget, the reaffirmation of the US Secretary of State's support for NATO, and the discussions around NATO and Ukraine were central to Trump's negotiations with Merkel in Washington. The 'specific reduction in foreign aid and environmental costs' in the 2018 US budget is also highlighted.