President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that requires the reduction and potential elimination of a series of federal agencies.
The executive order mandates for certain agencies to cease all non-required functions and diminish their operations to the minimum level that is statutorily required.
“It is the policy of my Administration to dramatically reduce the size of the Federal Government, while increasing its accountability to the American people,” reads the order.
The agencies affected by the order are the Presidio Trust, the Inter-American Foundation, the United States African Development Foundation, and the United States Institute of Peace.
“Reducing the size of the Federal Government will minimize Government waste and abuse, reduce inflation, and promote American freedom and innovation,” continues the order.
The agencies targeted by the order have been accused by conservatives of being partisan entities supporting Democrat policy priorities and frustrating Republican initiatives.
Heritage foundation scholars recently undermined the US Institute of Peace (USIP), for example, as lacking transparency, accountability, being solely controlled by Democrats, and having exceeded its original purpose.
When speaking about the USIP’s budget, Heritage investigators remarked how “no information is available that breaks down the USIP’s spending based on purpose and activities.”
Similarly, the Inter-American Foundation has also faced accusations of pandering to Democrat narratives and interests.
Another of the agencies referenced in Trump’s order is the Presidio trust, a federal organization designed to steward the historic Presidio area in San Francisco.
The Presidio composes part of former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) district, and the Presidio trust works in conjunction with other federal agencies such as the National Park Service.
Representative Pelosi was unmoved by Trump’s executive order, claiming “the Presidio Trust is statutory, and it has been protected from assaults over time by its statutory strength.”
Executive orders similar to this one are expected in the near future, as the order mandates for the president to receive a report on additional unnecessary governmental entities and Federal Advisory Committees that should be terminated on grounds that they are unnecessary.
