President Trump and Republicans in Congress are working to slash $31.7 billion in foreign aid spending. Meanwhile, the ultra-wealthy are set to receive roughly twice that amount—$60.3 billion—in just one year of tax breaks.
As President Trump and Republicans in Congress work to cut over $30 billion in lifesaving humanitarian and development aid, a new Oxfam analysis finds that the total amount of enacted and proposed cuts is roughly half of what the wealthiest 0.1% of households were just handed in one year’s worth of tax breaks from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA). The new analysis comes as the appropriations process grinds on and Congress debates its FY26 budget, including how much to allocate to foreign aid.
These cuts to lifesaving humanitarian and development aid eliminate critical programs that provide food, water, health care and other basic support for people in dire need around the globe, just as the government is giving massive tax handouts to ultra-rich individuals. Oxfam’s analysis shows:
- The Trump administration’s enacted and proposed cuts to humanitarian and development aid total $31.7 billion. This includes:
- $8.3 billion in rescissions, approved by Congress this summer.
- Pocket rescissions for an additional $4.9 billion that had already been approved by bipartisan majorities for State Department and USAID work.
- A further request for $18.5 billion in cuts to lifesaving humanitarian and development programs like clean water and food in emergencies, as part of the Trump administration’s FY26 budget request.
- In 2027 alone, the highest-earning 0.1% in the U.S. will receive roughly twice that amount in tax handouts ($60.3 billion) from the recently enacted OBBBA.
- The 10-year combined cost of the OBBBA’s corporate tax breaks and giveaways to the top 1% of earners — around $2 trillion — exceeds the total amount the U.S. has spent on development and humanitarian assistance since 1962.
“The Trump Administration has prioritized billionaire wealth over the lives of millions around the world, who will now be pushed even deeper into poverty to help bankroll needless tax handouts for the richest among us,” said Abby Maxman, Oxfam America’s President and CEO. “We have already seen the deadly consequences of the Trump administration’s ruthless and illegal cuts to lifesaving humanitarian and development aid, which have put millions of people’s survival on the line. Now, more children are going to bed hungry, and more people are dying from diseases we’ve long known how to prevent.”
Oxfam’s analysis highlights how the U.S. spends far more on tax breaks for the wealthy than on foreign aid. The OBBBA alone includes around $2 trillion in tax breaks for corporations and the richest 1% of households in the next decade—more than the total amount the U.S. has spent on international development and humanitarian aid since 1962.
These latest actions, Oxfam argues, will exacerbate the suffering of marginalized communities around the world, while intensifying wealth inequality within the U.S. Congress continues to place the burden of President Trump's regressive economic agenda on ordinary families and the world’s poorest people, now through the appropriations process. Under the current proposals, millions of people living through humanitarian crises will lose access to lifesaving food, water, and medicine.
Oxfam America calls on Congress to draft its FY26 budget to restore critical lifesaving aid, fund international assistance at the highest possible level, and ensure the Trump administration adheres to Congressional spending directives on aid.
Oxfam is a global organization that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice. We offer lifesaving support in times of crisis and advocate for economic justice, gender equality, and climate action. We demand equal rights and equal treatment so that everyone can thrive, not just survive. The future is equal. Join us at oxfamamerica.org.
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Notes to editors:
Figures for President Trump’s FY2026 budget request come from an analysis by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, which estimated that proposed cuts to global health, humanitarian aid, and development assistance total $18.5 billion. In addition to cuts proposed through the appropriations process, Trump also rescinded $13.2 billion in aid funding, including a $4.9 billion “pocket recission.”
Historical spending on foreign assistance is from the Office of Management and Budget’s historical tables and adjusted for inflation. Between 1962 and 2024, outlays for “international development and humanitarian assistance” have totaled $1.2 trillion in 2024 US dollars.
The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimated the distributional impact of the OBBBA’s tax provisions. They found that, in 2027, taxes paid by the top 0.1% of taxpayers will decrease by $60.3 billion.
The JCT also estimated the 10-year cost of corporate tax provisions of the OBBBA — Title VII, Subtitle A, Chapter 3: “Establishing Certainty and Competitiveness for American Job Creators” — at $920 billion. Based on JCT figures, the Center for American Progress estimated that the 10-year cost of the OBBBA’s tax breaks for the top 1% of households totals around $1 trillion.