The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are unlikely to protest a steep Pentagon budget cut for fear over angering US President Donald Trump, according to sources familiar with the matter.

This month’s Trump administration request would cut military assistance by $100 million from last year’s Pentagon budget request, a move that experts say could degrade the Kurdish-led unit’s ability to fight the Islamic State (IS) and hold thousands of detainees.

“I don’t think they will say anything publicly because they do not want to anger Trump and have him decide just to withdraw out of spite,” a former senior administration official, speaking not for attribution, told Al-Monitor. “It will impact everything, including their ability to hold prisoners.”

Despite the cut, the Pentagon aims to use the money to grow the number of US-vetted Syrian opposition fighters to more than 10,000 troops by next year, according to Defense Department budget documents. The fresh units will conduct “surgical raids and clearance operations” against IS, hold checkpoints and protect oil fields.