Trump will leave the UN and NATO without money, cut the State Department budget in half and close dozens of embassies
The Associated Press reports, citing a document from the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB), that the White House has proposed significant plans to cut spending on the administrative apparatus and external relations.
According to the agency, the Donald Trump administration would like to halve the US State Department's budget, reduce the number of diplomats and embassies around the world, and stop funding international organizations, including the UN, many of its agencies, and NATO headquarters.
According to a document from the US Office of Management and Budget published by the AP, funding for these budget items is planned to be cut by 50%, or approximately $30 billion, starting in October 2025.
Internal meeting notes about the proposal were said to have been circulating in online chat rooms among Foreign Service employees since last weekend, but exploded on Monday, when the State Department was due to submit a separate, unrelated reorganization plan to OMB.
AP notes that the document is preliminary and doubts that it will be approved by the US Congress.
At the same time, the very emergence of such plans testifies to the depth of the budget crisis that the new administration now faces, as it searches for what can be cut or trimmed to plug the financial holes.
"Officials familiar with the proposal say it must undergo several rounds of review before reaching lawmakers, who have amended and even rejected White House budget requests in the past. While the proposal is preliminary, it offers insight into the Trump administration's priorities and coincides with massive job and funding cuts across the federal government, from Health and Human Services and the Department of Education to the U.S. Agency for International Development," the report states.
One senior U.S. official familiar with the OMB proposal called it "aggressive" in terms of spending cuts. OMB spokesperson Alexandra McCandless stated that "no final funding decisions have been made ." The National Security Council did not respond to a request for comment on the proposed cuts.
“OMB’s efforts to drastically cut the State Department’s budget during Trump’s first term were met with fierce resistance on Capitol Hill and largely failed.
However, the second Trump administration quickly moved to downsize the federal government , cutting jobs and funding across all agencies. It has already disbanded USAID and moved to cut funding for so-called "soft power" institutions with foreign policy implications, such as the Voice of America , Radio Free Europe, Middle East Broadcasting Networks , Radio Free Asia , and Radio/TV Marti, which broadcasts to Cuba," the publication states.
According to AP, the document proposes cutting funding to the UN and NATO, halving foreign aid, and halting funding for healthcare abroad, with the exception of small amounts for the prevention of HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.
According to Reuters, the White House is proposing to close 10 US embassies and 17 consulates abroad, primarily in Africa and Europe. The cuts will affect not only the State Department but also the US Agency for International Development (USAID), whose functions have been transferred to the State Department.