The Trump administration is proposing sharp cuts to the budget for international diplomacy and aid in its 2019 funding request to Congress — though questions were raised when the White House and State Department appeared to ask for different amounts of funding with very little explanation.
In White House documents and a letter Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wrote to lawmakers, the administration requests $37.8 billion for fiscal year 2019 for the State Department and Agency for International Development, a cut of 32% from 2017 levels.
In a separate statement issued by the State Department in Tillerson’s name, the request is for $39.3 billion, a 29% cut. A State Department official said the agency was submitting a late-breaking addendum to the budget “that includes an additional $1.5 billion dollars in the topline for a limited set of administration priorities.”
The official was unable to explain the discrepancy with the White House figure, or what the limited set of priorities are.
The steep cuts come as crises escalate in Asia and the Middle East, many key State Department positions remain unfilled, and former military leaders decried the move.
“A responsible commitment of resources”
The expected cuts from 2017 funding levels prompted 151 retired three- and four-star generals to write to congressional leaders from both parties on Friday urging them to “ensure a responsible commitment of resources” that keeps pace with the growing threats the US faces.
“We must not undercut our nation’s ability to lead around the world in such turbulent times,” the generals wrote.
They highlighted the role that aid and diplomacy play in averting crises that eventually need a military response, pointing to the nearly 30 million people at risk of starvation in four countries; the increasing number displaced by instability and conflict in Yemen, Somalia, Myanmar and Venezuela; and the challenge of holding territory after the defeat of ISIS.
“Today’s crises do not have military solutions alone, yet America’s essential civilian national security agencies – the State Department, USAID, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Peace Corps and other development agencies – faced a significant cut last year,” the generals wrote.
“We call on you to ensure our nation also has the civilian resources necessary to protect our national security, compete against our adversaries, and create opportunities around the world,” the generals said.
The White House said that the budget for diplomacy and development would allow the US “to compete for influence against those who do not share America’s values or interests, catalyze conditions to help aspiring partners achieve mutually beneficial economic and security goals, and respond to the emerging era of great power competition across political, economic and information domains.”
Last year, Congress largely ignored the administration’s request for cuts, with many lawmakers voicing concerns similar to the generals’.
In contrast, the administration has requested $686 billion for the defense department, an $80 billion or 13% increase from the 2017 enacted level. This includes $597 billion for the base budget, and $89 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations, which are used for dealing with crises such as the situation in Syria and Iraq.
The administration said the fiscal year 2019 budget request of $37.8 billion for the State Department and Agency for International Development is meant to be focused on four areas: protecting security in the US and abroad, “renewing America’s competitive advantage for sustained economic growth and job creation,” promoting American leadership, and providing accountability to taxpayers.
The FY 2019 budget will help the US “strengthen and intensify international efforts to prevent North Korea, Iran and other actors from unlawfully acquiring weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery,” Tillerson wrote in the budget request.
Tillerson also stressed the importance of border protection and a commitment to upholding the $38 billion, 10-year memorandum of understanding that the Obama administration signed with Israel – the largest in US history.
The sharply curtailed budget comes at a time when State Department morale has been deeply damaged by what many in the building see as the administration’s disrespect for diplomacy and Tillerson’s “restructuring” program. Many noted that Tillerson seemed to have steep cuts built in before he had even had a chance to take the department’s measure.
The forced and voluntary departures of many senior and deeply experienced foreign service officers, and the apparent punishing of others by assigning them to trivial clerical work has left many in the agency shaken and alienated.
“Many senior leadership positions remain unfilled, undercutting America’s global influence,” the generals noted the departures in their letter. “We call on you to ensure our nation also has the civilian resources necessary to protect our national security, compete against our adversaries, and create opportunities around the world.”
A recent study by Government Executive, reported on by the Atlantic, found that the number of foreign service officers fell by 12% over the first eight months of the Trump administration, while the civilian workforce shrunk 6%.
The generals also quoted Defense Secretary James Mattis saying that, “America’s got two fundamental powers, the power of intimidation and the power of inspiration.”
But the budget is coming from a president who has publicly derided the idea of diplomacy, telling Tillerson he was “wasting his time” on efforts to use diplomacy to force North Korea to the table.
And while the generals stressed the value of aid to longer term US national security goals or interests, administration officials have repeatedly and overtly tied aid to political aims.
President Donald Trump asked Congress in his State of the Union speech to make sure aid only goes to America’s “friends,” while Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, made clear to nations that voted to condemn US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital that she would be “taking names” and there would be consequences.