Daily Brief: Trump to Seek Billions in New Defense Spending

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. February 28, 2017 Daily News Brief TOP OF THE AGENDA Trump to Seek Billions in New Defense Spending U.S. President Donald J. Trump is expected to propose billions in increased defense spending (WSJ) Tuesday evening in an address to a joint session of Congress. A White House official told reporters that the president will seek a 10 percent increase, or an additional $54 billion (Reuters), while White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said Trump will seek a total of $603 billion, only 3 percent higher than in the most recent fiscal year. The White House said the increased defense spending would be offset by cuts in other areas so that the total discretionary budget (USA Today), which excludes entitlement program spending, does not change. Administration officials said that foreign aid (WaPo), the Environmental Protection Agency (NYT), and social service programs would all see major reductions in funding.  ANALYSIS "If Mr. Trump’s request is approved, it would be the biggest increase in defence spending since a 10 per cent jump in 2008 and a 12 per cent increase in 2007, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a Washington-based watchdog. Both budgets were passed during George W Bush’s surge in Iraq, when the president ordered 20,000 additional troops into the country as an insurgency threatened to overwhelm the US-led effort," Barney Jopson and Sam Fleming write for the Financial Times. "The White House did not specify how Trump’s budget would address mandatory spending or taxes, promising that those details would come later. The vast majority of federal spending comes from programs Trump can’t touch with his budget. Social Security costs totaled about $910 billion last year, and Medicare outpaced defense spending with a total cost of $588 billion. Medicaid, interest payments on debt and miscellaneous costs made up an additional $1.2 trillion," Abby Phillip and Kelsey Snell write for the Washington Post. "Since the start of his insurgent campaign, Mr. Trump has opposed the Republican Party’s long-held positions on a range of policies, including free trade, how to deal with Russia and the future of government entitlement programs. Republicans in Congress had hoped that the influence of the two former Republican House members in Mr. Trump’s cabinet—Tom Price, head of health and human services, and Mr. Mulvaney—would have led to new conclusions about the need to address entitlement programs that are swelling drastically with baby boomers’ retirement. Instead, Mr. Trump appears intent on extracting the savings he needs for military spending from the one part of the budget already most squeezed, domestic discretionary spending," Michael D. Shear and Jennifer Steinhauer write for the New York Times.  PACIFIC RIM Two Women to Be Charged in Kim Jong-nam Killing Two women will be charged on Wednesday (BBC) with the murder of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother, Malaysia’s attorney general said. The defendants, who have said they believed they were taking part in a TV prank, could face the death penalty. CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick and Scott A. Snyder discuss what may be behind the assassination. CHINA: State Councilor Yang Jiechi (WSJ), China’s top diplomat, met with President Trump in Washington on Monday and is set to meet Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today. State media said that Yang would discuss scheduling a meeting between Trump and President Xi Jinping.  SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Bangladesh Weakens Child Marriage Law Parliament approved legislation that will allow girls under the age of eighteen to be married (NYT) if a local committee and court approve the wedding. Some 52 percent of Bangladeshi girls marry before age eighteen, according to the UN children’s fund, despite a legal prohibition on the practice. INDIA: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, during a visit to the United Kingdom, said there was "great enthusiasm" (BBC) for a free trade agreement between the countries, but formal dialogue could only begin once Britain had completed its separation from the European Union.  MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Saudi King Leads Delegation to Asia King Salman bin Abdulaziz, beginning a month-long tour of Asia (WSJ) with 1,500 princes, clerics, and military officials, signed business deals in Malaysia on Monday. The monarch is expected to sign a counterterrorism pact (Reuters) on his next stop, in Indonesia, before continuing on to Brunei, Japan, China, and the Maldives. CFR's Steven A. Cook asks whether Saudi Arabia is a competent U.S. ally in Salon. EGYPT: Parliament expelled Anwar Sadat, the nephew of the assassinated Egyptian president of the same name, from the body, accusing the dissenting lawmaker of sharing sensitive information with Western officials (NYT). SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Guinea Ministers Fired After Deadly Protests President Alpha Conde sacked three ministers, state media said. The move follows a protest in support of a teachers’ strike in which seven people were killed (VOA) in clashes with police, though the report did not give an official explanation for the dismissals. SOUTH AFRICA: Rhino killings declined 10 percent to 1,054 recorded cases (Bloomberg) in 2016, according to South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs, even as demand for horns has climbed in some Asian nations. Police more than doubled their arrests of poachers and traffickers last year. EUROPE Eurozone Business Confidence Highest Since 2011 The European Commission's Economic Sentiment Indicator (WSJ) rose to its highest level since before the global financial crisis. The score was driven by the rising confidence of manufacturers and service providers even as consumer confidence dropped. GERMANY: Chancellor Angela Merkel called Turkey's arrest of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel in mid-February "disproportionately harsh" (DW) and called his continued detention "bitter and disappointing." Turkey accuses Yucel of producing terrorist propaganda (BBC) and undermining the government. Mary Elise Sarotte discusses the future of German leadership in global affairs in a CFR conference call.  AMERICAS Leftist Rebels Claim Colombia Bombing Rebels from the National Liberation Army, or ELN, claimed responsibility for a bombing in Bogota last week that killed a police officer (LAHT) and wounded two dozen people. The rebels are currently negotiating a peace agreement (Colombia Reports) with the Colombian government following a pact last year that ended the country’s armed conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.          Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Manage My Subscriptions | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org

Date: February 28, 2017 at 11:03PM