U.S. President Donald Trump will today, propose on a 21% cut in foreign aid and slashes to social safety-net programs in his $4.8 trillion (£3.7 trillion) budget proposal for fiscal 2021, according to senior administration officials.
The budget would spend money to fund infrastructure projects and defence, but would also raise funds by targeting $2 trillion in savings from mandatory spending programs in the United States. It assumes revenues around $3.7 trillion.
Trump, a Republican, sought in his budget proposal last year to slash foreign aid but faced steep resistance from Congress and did not prevail.
The president’s latest blueprint for administration spending proposals is unlikely to be passed by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, particularly in an election year.
Trump, who campaigned for the presidency in 2016 on a promise to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, will seek $2 billion in funding for further construction on that project, substantially less than the $8.6 billion he requested a year ago.
During the 2016 campaign, Trump said Mexico would pay for the wall, which it has refused to do.