WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has moved to block five billion dollars of congressionally-approved foreign aid according to a White House announcement on Friday.
This action significantly raises the likelihood of a federal government shutdown as Democrats strongly oppose the policy.
The cuts specifically “affect programs of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development,“ Trump wrote in a formal letter to the House of Representatives.
The Trump administration has effectively dismantled USAID, the chief US foreign aid agency, since taking office for his second term.
Founded in 1961 as President John F. Kennedy sought to leverage aid to win over the developing world during the Cold War, USAID has been incorporated into the State Department after Secretary of State Marco Rubio slashed 85% of its programming.
Trump launched a sweeping campaign to downsize or dismantle swaths of the US government after taking office for the second time in January.
Democrats have warned that any attempt to reverse funding already approved by Congress would end any negotiations to avoid budgetary paralysis, the so-called “shutdown”, after September 30. – AFP
