Brookings Institution: What Trump’s budget would mean for the State Department — snap judgments
Thomas M. Hill, visiting fellow in governance studies at Brookings, provides topline thoughts on the Trump administration’s FY 2019 budget request for the State Department and USAID, as well as on the budget act signed into law last week (2/13).

ONE: Congress should ignore President Trump’s 2019 budget request
Samantha Urban with ONE writes, “The White House has released President Trump’s budget request for 2019. Like last year, President Trump is calling for a 30 percent cut to the international affairs budget, which would severely impact the progress in the fight against poverty and preventable disease. … The budget isn’t all bad news, though. Buried in the 2019 proposal is an important bipartisan idea: new tools for stronger and modernized private-sector engagement in developing countries. It’s not a replacement for foreign aid, but efforts to build infrastructure, start businesses, and expand energy access in developing countries could bring tens of billions of dollars in new investment — not to mention the ingenuity, expertise, and resourcefulness of the private sector — to the fight against extreme poverty. While ONE is disturbed by the proposed cuts to the State Department and USAID in the President’s 2019 budget proposal, we strongly support the modernization of America’s engagement with the private sector to help developing countries” (2/13).

Rewire: Trump Budget Proposal’s ‘Shameful Priorities’ Devalue Marginalized Lives
Rewire reporter Christine Grimaldi discusses funding for health programs in the Trump administration’s FY 2019 budget request, noting, “[H]ealth and human rights advocates say its message is clear: Some programs are as expendable to the administration as the women and vulnerable populations they are meant to help” (2/13).