Trump Critics Warn His Budget Proposal Puts Americans' Lives at Risk

budget proposalPresident Donald Trump is expected to deliver his budget proposal in a speech to Congress at 9 p.m. EST this evening.

Already, however, his plan has been met with steep opposition - especially from his own party members...

You see, part of the new president's budget plan consists of a $54 billion increase in defense spending.

That massive sum is only achievable by making deep cuts into other government programs elsewhere.

One program on Trump's chopping block is the State Department. According to FOX News this afternoon, the president will propose cutting State Department funding by 37%.

And as far as one Republican senator is concerned, taking money away from the U.S.' chief foreign affairs agency will pose a huge threat to American lives...

Sen. Graham: Trump's Budget Proposal Is "Not Going to Happen"

This morning, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) claimed that President Trump's first budget was "dead on arrival" and wouldn't make it through Congress.

"It's not going to happen," said Graham, according to NBC News. "It would be a disaster."

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Graham said significant State Department cuts would endanger American foreign service officers by limiting necessary expenses - many of which critics of Trump's budget proposal don't consider "arguable" or up for debate...

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For instance, as the lead U.S. foreign affairs agency, the State Department is responsible for representing the country in more than 270 diplomatic locations around the world, including embassies, consulates, and missions to international organizations.

The department is likewise responsible for promoting peace and stability in areas of vital interest to America - such as the Middle East - by means of military presence at times, or via the presence of civil service professionals in other instances.

Sen. Graham admitted that his chief concern was the welfare of these aforementioned Americans, claiming that cuts to the agency would "put those who serve overseas for the State Department at risk."

Therefore, "it's not going to happen," he repeated a second time, according to NBC News this morning.

Graham is not alone in his mission to halt cuts to the State Department. Just yesterday, more than 120 retired generals and admirals penned a letter to members of Congress in an effort to stress the necessity of State Department funding as "critical to keeping America safe."

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"The State Department, USAID, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Peace Corps, and other development agencies are critical to preventing conflict and reducing the need to put our men and women in uniform in harm's way," the generals wrote, according to CNN Politics yesterday.

From there, they went on to quote a 2013 remark made by current Defense Secretary James Mattis, who was at the time commander of the U.S. Central Command...

"If you don't fully fund the State Department," Mattis proclaimed in a 2013 Defense Department hearing, "then I need to buy more ammunition."

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