Trump administration to cut funding for overseas gender identity and diversity programmes

The Trump administration plans to cut federal funding for organisations supporting gender identity or diversity overseas, expanding the Mexico City Policy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Trump administration plans to halt federal funding of any organization or government that supports work overseas related to gender identity or diversity, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing a U.S. official and nonprofit groups informed of the policy change.

US President Donald Trump in the Oval office of the White House in Washington, D.C. (REUTERS file)

The new restrictions are being treated as an expansion of the so-called Mexico City Policy, a Republican initiative that bars overseas recipients of U.S. health dollars from providing or promoting abortion services, even if other funding sources pay for those services, according to Politico.

The new policy is expected to cut off U.S. funding to American-based and foreign entities supporting "diversity, equity and inclusion," which the Trump administration regards as racial discrimination, or transgender programs, which it sees as harmful to women, Politico said.

The prohibition would apply to non-profits, foreign governments and United Nations programs, it said.

Asked by Reuters for comment, a senior State Department official said the agency "continues to advance President Trump’s American First foreign policy."

The official added that the State Department would "soon take additional steps to close loopholes that allowed taxpayer funding for promotion of abortion in previous iterations of the Mexico City Policy and expand the scope of the policy to ensure every penny of U.S. foreign assistance prioritizes American values, not the woke agenda."

The Politico story named two organizations - the Global Health Council and MSI Reproductive Choices - as having been informed by the Trump administration of the details of its plans. The organizations did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.