Trump to Propose Slashing $163 Billion in Government Programs in Budget Blueprint
Blueprint includes eliminating the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
President Trump is expected to propose far-reaching cuts to federal environmental, renewable energy, education and foreign-aid programs in a budget blueprint that slashes nondefense discretionary spending by more than $160 billion, according to administration officials.
The fiscal 2026 budget proposal, which the White House is planning to release on Friday, is a largely symbolic wish list that lays out the president’s spending and political priorities. Congress, which Republicans control by narrow majorities in both chambers, will spend months debating which elements of the proposed plan should be turned into law.
The budget plan will propose $557 billion in nondefense discretionary spending, officials said. It would reduce nondefense discretionary spending by $163 billion, the officials said. The administration said that represents a 22.6% cut from projected spending in fiscal 2025, which ends Sept. 30. It wasn’t clear how the administration calculated that percentage.
Nondefense discretionary spending represents the portion of federal money that must be reauthorized each year and includes funding for areas such as education, transportation and public health. It doesn’t include Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, or spending on defense.
Trump’s budget proposal would also increase funding for border security and defense, officials said, as well as air and rail safety, veterans and law enforcement.
The president’s proposal builds on Trump’s existing efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, roll back Biden administration clean-energy goals and target programs, grants, and research funding the administration asserts contribute to waste or promote a political agenda.
Since taking office in January, the administration—led by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency—has taken early steps to dismantle federal agencies and fire government workers.
Budget documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal show that the White House is proposing deep cuts to programs at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Energy Department, the Interior Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Education Department, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among others.
Much of what the federal government spends every year is mandated by previous pieces of legislation and the U.S. government’s obligations to its creditors, which have grown as the federal debt has ballooned.
Trump’s proposal is known in Washington as a “skinny budget,” which is typically submitted in the first year of a president’s term. It lays out top line funding requests, but isn’t as comprehensive as the full budget that the administration is expected to release later this month. The president is expected to send the budget outline to Capitol Hill on Friday.
Musk has estimated that DOGE would cut $150 billion in spending in the coming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. Musk has pledged to find $1 trillion in total savings.
Trump’s budget is expected to target programs the administration views as “wasteful,” according to administration officials, who said it would encourage states to take back ownership of some programs, eliminate what the Trump administration sees as “woke” initiatives and reduce funding for climate and green energy programs.
An administration official familiar with the budget said it would eliminate many federal grants put in place during the Biden administration and require more financial participation from localities and states. The budget proposal would also eliminate some federal block grants or consolidate them to reduce administrative costs.
The budget is expected to propose expansive cuts to foreign assistance. Trump already dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, and what little remains is being moved to the State Department. The budget also calls for eliminating some of the agencies already targeted by Trump executive orders.
According to administration officials, Trump’s proposed budget cuts include:
- Eliminating offices at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
- Defunding “environmental justice” initiatives at the EPA
- Closing USAID and reallocating grant funding
- Eliminating a federal program that provides grants to nonprofits that help people who face housing discrimination
- Defunding the National Endowment for Democracy, a nonprofit that supports democratic institutions around the world
- Cutting what it calls “wasteful and woke FEMA grant programs”
- Closing the U.S. Institute of Peace, a congressionally funded think tank that seeks to prevent global conflict
- Refocusing the National Institutes of Health on research that aligns with Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda
- Eliminating a $315 million grant program for preschool development that the administration contends pushed DEI initiatives
- Cutting $77 million in grant funding for teacher preparation and professional development the administration says pushed “Critical Race Theory” and DEI initiatives
- Eliminating the Minority Business Development Agency, which promotes minority-owned businesses
- Eliminating the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, which promotes economic growth in poor communities
- Cutting $5.2 billion from the National Science Foundation
- Canceling $15 billion in funding in the infrastructure law signed by former President Joe Biden for renewable energy technology
- Eliminating U.S. investments in global funds to help developing countries deal with the effects of climate change
- Eliminating EPA research grants to nongovernmental organizations
- Cutting $2.5 billion from the Energy Department’s renewable energy program
- Cutting $80 million from renewable energy programs at the Interior Department
- Eliminating grants at NOAA, which forecasts weather and monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditions, among other things
