WASHINGTON– U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday he was considering scaling back an effort that could have cut billions of dollars in foreign aid and would decide on the proposal – which faces strong opposition in Congress – within days.

Trump administration officials have said they are reviewing State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development spending with an eye to using a budget process known as “rescission” to slash up to $4.3 billion in spending that had already been approved by the Senate and House of Representatives.

“We’re looking at it and we’re looking at it in different ways, and we’re talking to Republicans and Democrats about it,” Trump told reporters at the White House. He said “certain things” could be cut, but others might not be. “But we are looking at it and we have some things that are on the table very much. We’ll let you know over the next probably sooner than a week,” Trump said.

Many members of Congress, including some of Trump’s fellow Republicans as well as Democrats, have called on the administration to cancel, or pare back, its plans. The administration also tried to use rescissions to cut foreign aid last year, but lawmakers thwarted that plan.(Reuters)…[+]