US President Donald Trump is looking to slash funding for diplomatic missions and foreign aid, to increase spending on the US nuclear programme, and to increase border wall funding, according to a budget proposal released Monday.
The massive 4.8-trillion-dollar proposal to Congress for the 2021 fiscal year is expected to be largely dismissed by lawmakers, who hold the purse strings.
The budget plan sets out the Trump administration's policy priorities heading into the November presidential elections and sets up a stark contrast with Trump's rivals, as Democrats vie to gain their party's nomination.
Under Trump's proposal the National Nuclear Security Administration will see a 3.2-billion-dollar increase in funding, a 19-per-cent boost over the last year.
"America's nuclear deterrent is the backstop and foundation of the Nation's defense and that of America's allies," the budget proposal states, adding that the funding will address the "return of great power competition."
Meanwhile the US State Department and USAID, which administers civilian foreign aid, would see an 11.2-billion-dollar cut in funding, amounting to a 22-per-cent decrease from 2020.
The slashed funding invests in the diplomatic workforce while "putting taxpayers first by promoting more efficient operations."
Refugees Intentional, a humanitarian organization, called Trump's proposal a "flight from US leadership" and said lawmakers would likely reject the drastic funding cuts, as they did last year.
Trump's plan also requests approximately 2 billion dollars to continue construction of a wall along the US border with Mexico, a signature campaign promise that has been derided by Democrats.
Following the announcement of Trump's budget, Democratic lawmakers slammed the president for proposing a series of massive cuts to major domestic and safety-net programmes.
"With his latest budget proposal, it's hard to imagine that President Trump could do any more to double-cross the very American workers and middle-class families he promised to help just last week in his State of the Union address," Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said.
The budget seeks an increase for space exploration and to cut budget deficit, while projecting economic growth to remain at around three per cent for most of the next decade, a number higher than forecasts by the US Federal Reserve.
"The era of putting American workers second and doubling down on the failed policies of the past is over," Trump's budget proposal states.
