Trump plans $54bn increase in US defence spending

An official said most federal agencies would see a reduction in spending as a result, and that there would be a “large reduction in foreign aid”

US president Donald Trump speaks to a meeting of the National Governors Association at the White House in Washington. Evan Vucci / AP Photo

WASHINGTON // On the eve of his first congressional address, US president Donald Trump on Monday offered a taste of his upcoming budget, announcing he would ask congress for a near-10 per cent rise in defence spending and a large cut in foreign aid.

Previewing measures designed to back up campaign promises with dollars and cents, Mr Trump promised a fiscal plan focused on “public safety and national security”.

An administration official said the president’s plan would include a US$54 billion (Dh198.3bn) increase in defence spending and a corresponding decrease in non-military programmes.

“Most federal agencies will see a reduction as a result,” the official said. There will be a “large reduction in foreign aid”, he added.

Mr Trump has put security threats at centre of his administration’s policy and insisted a blunt, muscular response is the only remedy.

He has promised to build a wall on the Mexican border, deport unauthorised immigrants and wipe extremists off the “face of the earth”.

His budget proposal would substantially increase US defence spending – by far the highest in the world – although there were no details on how the extra funds would be spent.

Mr Trump claimed his budget “follows through on my promise on keeping Americans safe”.

“It will include a historic increase in defence spending to rebuild the depleted military of the United States of America at a time we most need it,” he added.

Republican senator John McCain argued that the increase was less significant than Mr Trump suggested, representing a 3 per cent rise over projections for the 2018 fiscal year.

“We can and must do better,” he said.

But others raised questions about the impact of planned cuts at the state department and the environmental protection agency.

Foreign aid accounts for less than 1 per cent of US federal spending, and reducing it would not be enough to compensate for a big rise in defence spending.

“It is a fairly small part of the discretionary budget, but it is still consistent with what the president said,” Trump budget tsar Mick Mulvaney said.

“We are taking his words and turning them into policies and dollars.”

Jonathan Katz, who until recently was the deputy assistant administrator of USAID, said that Mr Trump’s proposed cuts could damage American interests and influence on the world stage.

Foreign assistance offers “great value for money” and makes a “huge contribution to security, the economy and overall safety of Americans”, he said.

Mr Katz, who is now with the German Marshall Fund, said foreign assistance was vital for everything from preventing pandemics to developing economies that eventually become trade partners.

“If there are no resources to address an Ebola outbreak, how does that help the wellbeing of Americans?,” he asked.

* Agence France-Presse