U.S. President Donald Trump has moved to block $5 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid, the White House announced on Friday, heightening the risk of a federal government shutdown as Democrats oppose the move.
In a letter to the House of Representatives, Trump said the cuts would “affect programs of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).”
The White House Office of Management and Budget stressed on social media that the Republican president “will always put AMERICA FIRST,” alongside a copy of the letter.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has effectively dismantled USAID, the U.S. government’s primary foreign aid agency.
Founded in 1961 under John F. Kennedy to use aid as a tool in the Cold War, USAID has been folded into the State Department, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly cutting 85 percent of its programming.
After his second inauguration in January, Trump launched a campaign to downsize or dismantle large portions of the federal government.
Although Republicans control both chambers of Congress, they still require Democratic support in the Senate to pass spending bills.
Using a little-tested legislative tactic, Trump has sought to reclaim the funds late in the fiscal year, potentially leaving Congress without enough time to vote before the current funding expires at the end of September.
Democrats have warned that any attempt to reverse funding already approved by Congress would halt negotiations to avoid a shutdown. The U.S. narrowly avoided a shutdown in March.
A federal shutdown, though rare, is disruptive and costly, halting functions such as food inspections and closing national parks, monuments, and federal offices.
Up to 900,000 federal employees could be furloughed, while another million deemed essential—including air traffic controllers and police—would continue working without pay until funding resumes.
