Trump cuts $3 billion in foreign aid and IED policies

Donald Trump will be cutting $3 billion in government spending. This time, the cuts relate to two budget items related to foreign aid and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. These were included in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which passed through Congress with Republican support and was enacted by Joe Biden.

According to White House sources told the media Semafor, it is cutting a quarter of a $12 billion fund that the legislation designated for "emergency" spending. However, the White House concluded that not all those allocations corresponded with that label.

"Roughly $2.5 billion of the $2.9 billion in cancelled spending would have gone to foreign aid, including migration and refugee assistance for nongovernmental organizations as well as economic development money slated for Moldova and Georgia. The move does not affect military assistance to nations like Ukraine. The cuts will also target diversity, equity, and inclusion projects," the newspaper said.

The remaining $9.4 billion in spending that the 2023 law considered an "emergency" will remain in effect for 2025.

This cut can be made unilaterally thanks to the recent Continuing Resolution (CR) passed by Congress, which gives the president considerable flexibility in continuing some discretionary spending. Indeed, this aspect of the legislation that averted the government shutdown was one of the most criticized by Democrats on Capitol Hill.

House conservatives, precisely those who most opposed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, celebrated the president's decision.

"HUGE. President Trump is using the flexibility Congress gave him in the recent Continuing Resolution to CUT nearly $3 billion in so-called "emergency" spending. Promises made, promises kept!" the House Freedom Caucus celebrated on their X account.

The chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, Andy Harris (R-MD), personally joined in the congratulations and assured that "it is time to cut our government's superfluous spending."

The bill was passed with the support of 71 Republicans in the House of Representatives and 17 in the Senate. It was the product of negotiations between Biden and then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which raised the debt ceiling and stalled discretionary spending for two years.