Tillerson defends White House proposal to cut State budget
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson defended the White House’s proposal to slash the State Department budget by almost 30%, a move that could have serious repercussions on Middle East diplomacy.
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking March 16 in Japan in one of his first press availabilities since becoming America’s top diplomat, offered support for a Trump administration proposal to slash the State Department’s budget by almost 30%.
The White House proposal to cut the core State Department and US Agency for International Development (USAID) budget from $36.7 billion in 2017 to $25.6 billion in fiscal year 2018 reflects the Trump administration’s expectation that the United States will be involved in fewer military conflicts overseas and that other countries will be contributing more for foreign assistance, Tillerson said.
