Memo says Trump would cut State budget by 50 percent: WaPo

An internal White House memo proposes cutting the budgets of the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) by nearly half in fiscal 2026, according to new reporting from The Washington Post.

The early proposal for the fiscal 2026 budget would allocate $28.4 billion for State and USAID — down $27 billion, or approximately 48 percent, from the $54.4 billion in the 2025 budget, according to the Post.

The Trump administration has moved to formally end USAID, merging any remaining programs with the State Department in the coming months.

The early budget proposal, reviewed by the Post, takes for granted that USAID would be totally absorbed by the State Department. It proposes a 54 percent reduction in funding for humanitarian assistance and a 55 percent decline in global health funding, the Post reported, citing the memo.