Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended major cuts to the foreign affairs budget during his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He advocates a $28.5 billion budget, approximately half of previous spending levels, and supports a reorganization of the State Department, including potential closures of U.S. embassies. Critics, including Senator Jeanne Shaheen, warn these budget reductions may strengthen China's global influence, as they continue to expand their diplomatic efforts. Bipartisan tension exists, with some Democrats believing reforms could have been approached more collaboratively.
"As Elon Musk took a chainsaw to USAID and you proposed cutting 83% of foreign programs, China has proposed increasing its diplomatic budget by 8.4%..."
"Rubio is someone who, up until four months ago, was an internationalist, someone who believed in America flexing its powers in all manners, but especially through foreign assistance..."
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