Description: The US Senate and House of Representatives, in a contested vote, passed a bill cutting foreign aid and broadcasting federal financing of several media outlets such as PBS and NPR. The Senate passed the bill with 51 to 48 votes in favor while the House passed the bill with 216 to 213 votes in favor with some members of the Republican party voting against it. The bill arrives as the Trump administration advances its initiatives to cut excessive federal spending, the complete amount of federal spending which is projected to be saved from the budget cuts amounted to approximately $8 billion. The Democratic party voiced its concerns mostly over the expenditure limitations regarding foreign aid, as many humanitarian organizations would experience budget downfalls which would disable the organizations to support regions with much necessary humanitarian aid in regions affected by conflicts and natural disasters. The complete shortages in financing regarding foreign aid were projected to reach over $5 billion affecting programs such as provision of emergency shelters, medical care, food and water supplies and various forms of refugee programs.
Impact: Trump’s unification around conservatism is expected to result in impeding US influence around the globe and hampering humanitarian and aid initiatives, crucial to war affected regions, causing substantiative global implications on US influence. The consequences of the US upending of the USAID program immediately started affecting organizations and initiatives facilitating aid to countries plunged in war such as Sudan, causing further prolongation of humanitarian disaster and warfare. With the projected and continued US withdrawal from global and international affairs, the power vacuum could be exploited by China, which is known to have conceptualized their state building foreign policy around infiltrating the socio – economic dynamics of countries by providing large amounts of economic support, through various projects and initiatives. The budget shortages affecting the media sector raise concerns over media transparency and availability to mechanisms for early warning which would considerably impact the dissemination of information in regions affected by natural disasters as demonstrated by recent events in the deadly floods in Texas and crises similar to the US embassy staff withdrawal prior to the attacks on Iran.