US President Donald Trump has moved to block $5 billion of congressionally approved foreign aid, the White House said on Friday, August 29, raising the likelihood of a federal shutdown as Democrats oppose the policy. The cuts "affect programs of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development," Trump wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives. The Republican president "will always put AMERICA FIRST," the White House Office of Management and Budget said on social media, releasing a copy of the letter.
The Trump administration has effectively dismantled USAID, the chief US foreign aid agency, since taking office. Founded in 1961 as John F. Kennedy sought to leverage aid to win over the developing world in the Cold War, USAID was incorporated into the State Department after Secretary of State Marco Rubio slashed 85% of its programming. Trump, after taking office for the second time in January, launched a sweeping campaign to downsize or dismantle swaths of the US government.
Republicans control both chambers of Congress, but need Democratic support in the Senate to pass new spending laws. Trump, deploying a little-tested legislative tactic, has sought to claw back the spending late in the fiscal year so that Congress may not have time to vote before the funding expires next month. Democrats have warned that any attempt to reverse funding already approved by Congress would end any negotiations to avoid budgetary paralysis, also known as the shutdown, after September 30.
The United States last averted a shutdown, with hours to spare, in March. Shutdowns are rare but disruptive and costly, as everyday functions like food inspections halt, and parks, monuments and federal buildings shut up shop. Up to 900,000 federal employees can be furloughed, while another million deemed essential – from air traffic controllers to police – work but forego pay until normal service resumes.