The administration of US President Donald Trump is proposing to cut the State Department's budget by almost half, at the expense of funding for humanitarian aid and health programs, as well as international organizations, including the UN and NATO.
This is reported by The Washington Post.
It is noted that the journalists of the publication received an internal document, from which it follows that the proposed reduction assumes that $28.4 billion would remain for all activities of the State Department - this is a reduction of 48% compared to the budget approved by Congress for 2025. In the case of international organizations, the reduction is almost 90%.
"According to the document, funding for the UN, NATO and 20 other organizations would be stopped, leaving ad hoc contributions to a small number of organizations, including the IAEA and the International Civil Aviation Organization," notes The Washington Post. In addition, there is a complete cessation of funding for international peacekeeping missions.
The document was signed by the State Department's Director of Budget and Planning, Douglas Pitkin, and the already dismissed Director of Foreign Assistance, Peter Morocco. It is dated April 10.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was given time to submit a response to the document and his own proposals, and they want to submit it to Congress by the end of April.
As a reminder, United States leader Donald Trump said that he has set a deadline for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to cease fire in Ukraine.