State Department and Foreign Operations Get Budget Cuts

"Lawmakers in Congress recently proposed a State Department and Foreign Operations budget $12 billion below what the administration had requested, and a $7 billion drop from the previous year. Proposed cuts target ideological hot button issues for Republicans such as funding for climate and gender related programs, but the proposal would also reduce USAID and funding for multilateral organizations."

"These trade-offs will likely be felt in US outreach in the Indo-Pacific. The State Department’s 2023 Indo-Pacific Engagement Report had already identified a US$41.3 billion shortfall in aid and diplomatic resources needed to compete with China’s influence over the next five years."

https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/back-future-us-state-department