Trump to bar funding of entities that promote diversity work abroad

The Trump administration plans to halt federal funding of any organisation or government that supports work overseas related to gender identity or diversity, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing a U.S. official and non profit groups informed of the policy change.

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 programmes, which it sees as harmful to women, Politico said.

The prohibition would apply to non-profits, foreign governments and United Nations programmes, 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 prioritises American values, not the woke agenda."

The Politico story named two organisations: the Global Health Council and MSI Reproductive Choices. Both were informed by the Trump administration of the details of its plans. 

The organisations did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

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