Trump proposes steep cuts in first budget request of second term
by Alex Gangitano and Aris Folley - 05/02/25 10:47 AM ET
President Trump unveiled the White House budget request for fiscal 2026 on Friday, a set of proposals that would make steep cuts to nondefense programs while boosting defense and border funding.
In a letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought announced the president’s budget would reduce base nondefense discretionary budget authority by 22.6 percent, cutting spending levels by $163 billion.
That would include a roughly $18 billion reduction for the National Institutes of Health compared to fiscal 2025 levels.
The request says the Department of Energy would see a reduction of more than $15 billion from what it described as the “cancellation” of former President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The budget also proposes a nearly $25 billion reduction for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, with State Rental Assistance Block Grants on the chopping block. It instead calls for the transformation of the rental assistance programs into a “state-based formula grant which would allow states to design their own rental assistance programs based on their unique needs and preferences.”
Vought argued funding for homeland security, veterans, seniors, law enforcement and infrastructure would be protected.
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5279446-trump-proposes-steep-cuts-in-first-budget-request-of-second-term/
