Trump wants 25% cut in US military fund to deter Russian aggression

Impeached American president Donald John Trump wants a 25% reduction in the military fund designed to deter Russian aggression against the U.S., no reason, why are you asking, no really, why, you seem kind of obsessed.

According to Defense Department budget documents unveiled Monday, Trump plans to cut a military fund designed to offset Russian aggression in Eastern Europe by 25%.

From U.S. News:

Budget proposals for fiscal 2021 released Monday afternoon call for $4.5 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative, a fund started by the Obama administration in the aftermath of Russia's 2014 invasion of parts of eastern Ukraine and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, which sparked a conflict that continues to inflict casualties on both sides. The latest proposal represents a precipitous drop from the $6 billion enacted for the current fiscal year and $6.5 billion the year before. Congress approved funding in line with administration requests for those years.

Trump has repeatedly expressed criticism of U.S. programs like the EDI that provide training, resources and money for foreign governments throughout Europe, calling on other U.S. partners to do more. The president has previously raided this fund as a workaround to pay for a wall along the southern U.S. border after Congress refused to allocate those funds. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is expected to make an announcement later this week on how the military will pay for additional border wall construction, CNN reports, after Defense budget officials on Monday said that decision was not yet final.

Read more:
Trump Proposes 25 Percent Drop in Fund Designed to Deter Russia
[usnews.com, Paul D. Shinkman, Feb. 10, 2020, at 4:35 p.m.]