President Donald Trump's plan to impose sharp cuts to foreign aid and domestic programs is a non-starter in the Republican-led Congress and that's according to top GOP lawmakers.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who once headed the panel responsible for the foreign assistance budget, told reporters that Trump's cuts to foreign aid probably couldn't pass muster on Capitol Hill.
"The diplomatic portion of the federal budget is very important and you get results a lot cheaper frequently than you do on the defense side," McConnell told reporters. "So speaking for myself, I'm not in favor of reducing the (foreign aid) account to that extent."
Trump's draft budget plan would add USD 54 billion to the Pentagon's projected budget, financed by taking an equal amount from domestic agencies and departments. Diplomacy and foreign aid would face a 37 per cent cut that would be felt across the State Department and the US Agency for International Development.
Trump said in his Tuesday night joint address to Congress that his budget "calls for one of the largest increases in national defense spending in American history .... (and) will also increase funding for our veterans."
Trump's budget was panned by the Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York.
"The same time he's talking about medical research he's going to slash it," Schumer said today. "Education. He talked about the great issue of education. Same thing. His budget is going to slash education to smithereens."
The initial reaction among Republicans signaled that Trump faces a fight with his party over the USD 1 trillion-plus portion of the federal budget that is passed each year by Congress.
That discretionary part of the budget has been squeezed over the past few years, while Republicans controlling Congress have largely ignored the ever-growing tide of automatic-pilot spending on benefit programs like food stamps, student loans, and Medicare.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
