Trump To Again Propose Slashing Foreign Aid In Budget

President Trump will propose $4.4 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade in his budget for fiscal year 2021 — a document that is expected to be quickly dismissed by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

The proposal, set for release at 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday, will include slashing foreign aid by 21%, budget chief Russell Vought told NPR's Steve Inskeep.

The White House wants to boost funding for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation while cutting other types of foreign aid, said Vought, the acting head of the Office of Management and Budget.

"Our view is that we have trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see and we have to take care of our deficits and those numbers need to get down," Vought said in the interview.

Trump has proposed massive cuts to aid in each of his budget proposals. Congress, which holds the power of the purse, has ignored those past requests. "Democrats in Congress have opposed his previous budgets. We hope that changes. We probably need to have a national election before it does," Vought said.

The foreign aid cuts proposal immediately drew fire from retired Admiral Mike Mullen, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2007 to 2011. "The more we cut the international affairs budget, the higher the risk for longer and deadlier military operations," Mullen said in a letter to congressional leaders.

The budget is expected to highlight Trump's priorities on border security, tax cuts, space exploration and other policies he may pursue if he wins a second term in the November presidential election.