Government efficiency teams have paused food-aid programs that provide needed cargoes for the U.S.-flagged Merchant Marine. A senior Republican senator is warning of cuts to the proposed budget for military shipbuilding. The staff at a newly created office to coordinate maritime policy has been cut to two people from seven.

Shipping industry executives say they don’t doubt the president’s desire to expand the maritime industrial base. They say some of the recent setbacks are a function of the unintended consequences of competing agendas within the administration.

Some industry officials warn that if the [Food for Peace] program isn’t resurrected under another government department soon they will have to start laying up ships and laying off seafarers.

The Trump administration has no plans to rescue the program. A senior administration official said the program was wasteful and that the State Department “is committed to responsibly winding down” the program despite efforts in Congress to transfer Food for Peace to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Maritime specialists also are concerned about the newly created shipbuilding office at the National Security Council. The office, however, has shrunk because of broader cuts across the National Security Council. The senior administration official said: “The right-sizing of the NSC has made processes more streamlined and efficient.”