Trump Administration Releases Preliminary Details on FY 2026 Budget
On May 3, the Trump Administration released preliminary, high-level details of its fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget request, referred to as a “skinny budget,” and accompanying fact sheets. In the preliminary request, the Trump Administration reiterates its commitment to “reducing waste” and “improving efficiency” through targeting programs that support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, climate change, green energy, and other topics that have been deemed “woke” by the Administration. Full budget details are expected in the upcoming weeks.
As reported in the leaked Health and Human Services (HHS) passback, the budget proposes $27 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a 40 percent decrease from FY 2025. The proposal also includes a reorganization of the institutes and centers (ICs) into five new focus areas: the National Institute on Body Systems Research; National Institute on Neuroscience and Brain Research; National Institute of General Medical Sciences; National Institute of Disability Related Research; and the National Institute on Behavioral Health. Some ICs would be eliminated under the proposal, including the National Institute on Minority and Health Disparities. The budget proposes retaining the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) under this new structure. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was proposed to receive $4 billion in funding for FY 2026, a 44 percent cut from the FY 2025 level.
In a fact sheet titled “Cuts to Woke Programs,” President Trump targeted the National Science Foundation (NSF) with a 57 percent or $5.2 billion cut to their budget, proposing only $3.9 billion for FY 2026. This comes after NSF terminated hundreds of grants and the resignation of NSF Director, Sethuraman Panchanathan (see previous COSSA coverage). The budget also takes aim at “woke social, behavioral, and economic sciences”, targeting specific grants from various institutions, and proposes eliminating “all DEI-related programs” at the agency, which the Administration has already taken steps to do in recent weeks (see related article).
On May 3, a group of former NSF Directors and former Chairs of the National Science Board sent a letter to Congressional Appropriators criticizing the President’s FY 2026 budget request for NSF, especially in light of the scientific priorities laid out in a memo the President sent to his Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Michael Kratsios. In it they state:
“We believe these challenges can be met, but not with the draconian budget plan and staffing reductions just released by OMB…. Achieving the President’s vision requires a major enhancement of the NSF budget, ideally a doubling of the FY25 level over the next few years and sufficient staff to execute this vision. In the current political climate, we know this is a bold request. We make it, nonetheless, to say — if we truly wish to realize this vision, we must commit to a historic investment in fundamental research and education in a manner that leaves no doubt about the United States’ intentions with our international competitors.”
Congressional oversight hearings will begin in the weeks ahead featuring Trump Administration officials defending the President’s budget request. Stay tuned to COSSA’s continued coverage on the appropriations process.