CONFIRMED: Trump Plans On Cutting Foreign Aid To Over 100 Countries, Reclaiming Billions

Of course, Trump's plan to cut foreign aid is getting a lot of push-back, especially from Democrats.

The Washington Examiner has more on this:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned the Trump administration Sunday that proposed cuts to foreign aid are “illegal” and could jeopardize a two-year budget deal that Democrats recently sealed with President Trump.                 

In a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, Mrs. Pelosi said the expected cuts of about $4 billion in foreign aid already appropriated by Congress “violates the good faith of our budget negotiations.”

“I request that you work within the administration to stop this proposed rescission, which GAO [Government Accountability Office] states is illegal,” the California Democrat wrote. “We are insisting that the administration spend the appropriated foreign assistance funds, and are working with GAO to make sure the law is followed.”

The White House said it expects to release its final proposal for the foreign aid cuts this week. Among the planned cuts are spending on a so-called “Green New Deal for Africa” and money for solar panels in Central Asia.

Mr. Trump told reporters Sunday that he plans to go forward with the cuts but is willing to talk with lawmakers.               

“I support many of those things — we’ll negotiate it out,” the president said. “In some cases, I could see it both ways. In some cases, these are countries that we should not be giving to. I’ve cut back a lot of countries. We give billions of dollars to countries that don’t even like us, and I’ve been cutting that a lot.”

Reuters also noted:

Trump administration officials have said they are reviewing State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development spending with an eye to using a budget process known as “rescission to slash up to $4.3 billion in spending that had already been approved by the Senate and House of Representatives.  

“We’re looking at it and we’re looking at it in different ways, and we’re talking to Republicans and Democrats about it,” Trump told reporters at the White House. 

He said “certain things” could be cut, but others might not be. “But we are looking at it and we have some things that are on the table very much. We’ll let you know over the next probably sooner than a week,” Trump said. 

Many members of Congress, including some of Trump’s fellow Republicans as well as Democrats, have called on the administration to cancel, or pare back, its plans. The administration also tried to use rescissions to cut foreign aid last year, but lawmakers thwarted that plan. 

Opponents say the plan - developed within weeks of Trump signing a two-year budget deal into law - could imperil lawmakers’ future willingness to negotiate spending deals with the White House.

Some of the foreign aid Trump is pressing forward on cutting involves getting rid of abortion funding in Africa.

On this, CBN News stated:

A senior Trump administration official tells CBN News that the White House plans to cut abortion funding in West Africa as part of their goal to drastically cut America's international foreign aid around the world. 

Specifically, the blueprint would no longer provide 'voluntary family planning money' to the countries of Sierra Leone, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Benin. 

"The President himself has stated that there is a lot of fat in the foreign assistance we provide," according to the senior official. "While there are many great programs we support around the world, taxpayer dollars should not be spent on 'voluntary family planning' in Africa—which could include abortion. This administration is committed to cutting wasteful spending and protecting the unborn." 

he release of the specific international aid cuts is expected as early as Tuesday.

The moves are part of what is known as a "rescissions package," meaning the canceling of billions of unspent foreign assistance funds, which could total more than four billion dollars. Administration officials tell CBN News more than 100 countries overall will be targeted for international aid cuts.