Aid cuts will fund military upgrade
"[The budget] will include an historic increase in defence spending to rebuild the depleted military of the United States of America at a time we most need it." US President Donald Trump
UNITED STATES: US President Donald Trump is ordering a US$54 billion (NZ$75B) surge in defence spending at the expense of environmental and foreign aid agencies, as he tries to make good on the populist programme that propelled him to the White House.
The budget outlines were being sent to departments yesterday and offer a chance to define the new president’s priorities after a first month in which he has been bold on rhetoric but weak on detail.
He has a further opportunity to reset his presidency after a chaotic first month with a speech to a joint session of Congress.
During a meeting with state governors at the White House, Trump described the blueprint as a budget for public safety and national security.
‘‘It will include an historic increase in defence spending to rebuild the depleted military of the United States of America at a time we most need it,’’ he said.
Although full details of the draft budget have not yet been made public, an official from the Office of Management and Budget briefed reporters that it included an almost 10 per cent increase on the US$600B defence budget.
It will leave expensive federal welfare programmes such as Social Security and Medicare in place, despite Republican calls for reform. Instead, the money would be found from a significant reduction in foreign aid along with cuts at most domestic agencies, the official said.
Earlier reports suggested the Environment Protection Agency would bear the brunt. That sets up a showdown with Trump’s Democratic opponents in Congress. Agencies will have the chance to negotiate changes before the 2018 budget is published next month.
Critics have questioned whether there is any need for a big increase in Pentagon spending.
Trump made rebuilding the armed forces a central part of his campaign. On the campaign trail, he called for 90,000 more soldiers, 100 more air force jets and a 350-ship navy, an increase on the 274 current ships.
An official said the request for the Pentagon included more money for shipbuilding, military aircraft and ‘‘a more robust presence in key international waterways and choke points’’, such as the Strait of Hormuz and the South China Sea.
At the same time, administration figures said federal benefits were safe from cuts, in keeping with Trump’s campaign promises to protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
George W Bush, the former president, took a swipe at Trump yesterday, saying ‘‘we all need answers’’ on the extent of contact between his team and the Russian government.
In an interview with NBC’S Today show, Bush also defended the media’s role in keeping world leaders in check, noting that ‘‘power can be addictive’’.
‘‘I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy, that we need an independent media to hold people like me to account,’’ he said.
Bush, whose presidency was shaped by the 9/11 attacks on America in 2001, also warned against immigration policies that could alienate Muslims, and called for religious tolerance.
- Telegraph Group, Reuters