Senators Grill Rex Tillerson on Spending Cuts<br />sistance for democracy assistance?" Mr. Tillerson said<br />that other parts of the budget could be used for the task. that How can you say that then when the budget completely zeros out as<br />"Early next year we’ll begin implementation." "And when you say this year, you mean this<br />fiscal year?" Mr. Corker asked hopefully, which would mean an announcement in September.<br />By GARDINER HARRISJUNE 13, 2017<br />WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson was subjected to a morning of rough, bipartisan criticism on Tuesday as senators<br />from both parties denounced the Trump administration’s plans to cut the State Department’s budget by 31 percent.<br />In response to a question from Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, about whether the Trump administration<br />was withdrawing the United States from its longtime leadership position in global affairs, Mr. Tillerson said it was not.<br />Tillerson said that Hopefully we will have some clarity around what that looks like by the end of this year,<br />Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee repeatedly asked whether issues such as the promotion of human rights, the protection of democracy,<br />the campaign against human trafficking or efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons were priorities for the Trump administration.
