Trump’s FY 2026 Skinny Budget Slashes Non-Defense Spending, Boosts Military and Border Security

On May 2, 2025, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) submitted President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2026 topline discretionary budget to Congress, a lean $163 billion (23%) cut to non-defense spending from 2025 levels, marking the lowest since 2017. OMB Director Russ Vought called it a historic pivot, gutting “weaponized” federal programs like DEI, Green New Deal initiatives, and agencies accused of targeting Americans, while funneling unprecedented funds to defense (up 13%) and homeland security (up 65%). The budget, enabled by Trump’s proposed “One Big Beautiful Bill” for a simple majority passage, prioritizes border security with $500 million for ICE detention beds and $766 million for border tech, alongside military rebuilding to counter China. It eliminates DOJ grants funding progressive causes, redirects foreign aid to align with America First, and cancels $20.7 billion in green energy programs. Additional focuses include veteran healthcare ($1.1 billion to end homelessness), Social Security preservation, education streamlining with charter school expansion, and AI and quantum research. The budget also consolidates wildfire fighting into a new Federal Wildland Fire Service and targets fentanyl trafficking, aiming to restore fiscal discipline and national security.

Briefings & Statements

The White House Office of Management and Budget Releases the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Skinny Budget

Washington, D.C.–Today, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent President Trump’s topline discretionary Budget request for fiscal year 2026 to the U.S. Congress.

The Budget, which reduces non-defense discretionary by $163 billion or 23 percent from the 2025 enacted level, guts a weaponized deep state while providing historic increases for defense and border security.  The Budget also provides support for air and rail safety as well as key infrastructure and our Nation’s veterans and law enforcement.

This is the lowest non-defense spending level since 2017.  Savings come from eliminating radical diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and critical race theory programs, Green New Scam funding, large swaths of the Federal Government weaponized against the American people, and moving programs that are better suited for States and localities to provide. 

Defense spending would increase by 13 percent, and appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security would increase by nearly 65 percent, to ensure that our military and other agencies repelling the invasion of our border have the resources they need to complete the mission.  These increases will be made possible through the passage of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which will be enacted with a simple majority in the Congress, and not be held hostage by Democrats for wasteful spending increases that have been the status quo in Washington.

“For decades, the biggest complaint about the Federal Budget was wasteful spending and bloated bureaucracy.  But over the last four years, Government spending aggressively turned against the American people and trillions of our dollars were used to fund cultural Marxism, radical Green New Scams, and even our own invasion.  No agency was spared in the Left’s taxpayer-funded cultural revolution.  At this critical moment, we need a historic Budget—one that ends the funding of our decline, puts Americans first, and delivers unprecedented support to our military and homeland security.  The President’s Budget does all of that,” said Russ Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Highlights of the President’s key priorities include the following:

End Weaponization and Reduce Violent Crime.  The Budget ends the previous Administration’s weaponization of the Government by eliminating programs like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s disinformation offices that targeted and censored Americans, eliminating so-called Fair Housing programs that waged war on America’s suburbs, ending the Environmental Protection Agency’s unfair harassment of citizens over “environmental justice” directives, and halting the ATF’s criminalizing of gun-owning Americans and instead, focusing on stopping illegal firearms traffickers and violent gang members.

The Budget prioritizes Department of Justice (DOJ) key functions—restoring law and order to America’s communities, fighting crime, and supporting America’s men and women in Blue.  To that end, the Budget proposes to eliminate more than 40 DOJ grant programs that fund things like a “feminist, culturally specific nonprofit” to address “structural racism and toxic masculinities” and training Fa’afafine advocates—an organization of biological men that describes themselves as a “third-gender” in Samoa.  The Budget also reflects the President’s priority of reducing violent crime in American cities and protecting national security by getting Federal Bureau of Investigation agents into the field. 

Defund the Harmful Woke, Marxist Agenda.  Every single agency across the Federal Government was engaged in funding and advancing DEI and other radical, harmful ideologies such as:  $315 million for grant programs to push “intersectionality,” “racial equity,” and LGBTQIA+ programming for preschoolers; housing grants that funded activities such as an “Equity Audit” to reverse “land use patterns that have roots in systemically racist policies in L.A. County; and “addressing White Supremacy in the STEM profession.”  The Budget ends all of that.

Secure the Border.  The Budget request empowers the Department of Homeland Security to implement the President’s mass removal campaign and secure the border.  This funding is in addition to historic investments in border security the Administration proposes to provide through mandatory funding, as part of the congressional Budget reconciliation process.  The discretionary request includes an additional $500 million for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to expedite the removal of illegal aliens through the support of 50,000 detention beds, $766 million to procure cutting-edge border security technology funding, and funding to maintain 22,000 Border Patrol Agents and hire additional Customs and Border Protection officers for a total of 26,383 officers.  The Budget also cuts off the flow of taxpayer funds that have been abused to facilitate migrant caravan invasions.  Departments whose task it was to prevent those invasions allocated billions in funding to non-governmental organizations running “border aid stations” and legal services to criminal aliens—all of which will be eliminated under this new budget.

Realign Foreign Aid.  The Budget ensures that foreign aid spending is efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda.  The Budget reorganizes the U.S. Agency for International Development into the Department of State to meet current needs and eliminates non-essential staff that were hired based on DEI and preferencing practices.  The Budget also expands the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to support U.S. national security and American interests—generating returns to the taxpayer and reducing reliance on foreign aid.  This includes $3 billion for a new revolving fund to allow DFC to recycle any realized returns from its initial investments.

Rebuild our Nation’s Military.  The Budget request for the Department of Defense builds on the President’s promise to achieve peace through strength by providing the resources to rebuild our military, re-establish deterrence, and revive the warrior ethos of our Armed Forces.  In combination with $119 billion in mandatory funding, the Budget increases Defense spending by 13 percent, and prioritizes investments to strengthen the safety, security, and sovereignty of the homeland, deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific, and revitalize our defense industrial base. 

Achieve American Energy Dominance.  The Budget supports the President’s commitment to unleash America’s affordable and reliable energy and natural resources.  The Budget cancels over $15 billion in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Green New Scam funds provided to the Department of Energy for unreliable renewable energy, removing carbon dioxide from the air, and other costly technologies that burden ratepayers and consumers.  The Budget reorients Department of Energy funding toward research and development of technologies that could produce an abundance of domestic fossil energy and critical minerals, innovative concepts for nuclear reactors and advanced nuclear fuels, and technologies that promote firm baseload power.  The Budget also cancels an additional $5.7 billion in IIJA funding provided to the Department of Transportation for failed electric vehicle charger grant programs.

Make America Healthy Again (MAHA).  The Budget request builds on the President’s MAHA Commission.  The Budget provides resources to the Department of Health and Human Services that would allow the Secretary to tackle issues related to nutrition, physical activity, healthy lifestyles, over-reliance on medication and treatments, the effects of new technological habits, environmental impacts, and food and drug quality and safety.  The Budget also supports the creation of MAHA food boxes, that would be filled with commodities sourced from domestic farmers and given directly to American households.  The Budget includes resources to ensure food safety nationwide, including support for increased production and demand for services.

Support Our Veterans.  The Budget provides increased funding for healthcare services tailored to U.S. veterans’ needs, both at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers and in the community.  Combined with $50 billion in mandatory funding from the Toxic Exposures Fund, the Budget ensures that the Nation’s veterans are provided with the world-class healthcare that they deserve.  In addition, veterans who qualify for access to care with local community providers would be empowered to make the choice to see them, rather than having to drive in some cases hours to access the nearest VA facility.  The Budget includes $1.1 billion in new VA funding to make a down payment on President Trump’s commitment to eradicate veterans’ homelessness, the largest funding increase in the last decade.

Preserve Social Security.  The Budget supports the President’s promise to not touch Social Security benefits.  It also includes sufficient resources for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to improve customer service by expanding and improving online services, and reducing customer wait times in field offices and on the phone.  The Budget also includes investments in program integrity, to reduce fraud and abuse in Social Security programs, and in investments in artificial intelligence to increase employee productivity and automate routine workloads.  These efforts would help ensure that SSA delivers timely and accurate Social Security services to the public.

Streamline K-12 Education Funding and Promote Parental Choice.  The Budget continues the process of shutting down the Department of Education.  The Budget maintains full funding for Title I, that provides Federal financial assistance to school districts for children from low-income families, and special education funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  To limit the Federal role in education, and provide States with more flexibility, the Budget creates a new K-12 Simplified Funding Program that consolidates 18 competitive and formula grant programs into a new formula grant, and a Special Education Simplified Funding Program that consolidates seven IDEA programs into a single grant.  The Budget also invests $500 million, a $60 million increase, to expand the number of high-quality charter schools, that have a proven track record of improving students’ academic achievement and giving parents more choice in the education of their children.

Make America Skilled Again (MASA).  The Budget proposes to give States and localities the flexibility to spend Federal workforce dollars to best support their workers and economies, instead of funneling taxpayer dollars to progressive non-profits finding work for illegal immigrants or focusing on DEI.  Under this proposal, States would now have more control and flexibility to coordinate with employers and would have to spend at least 10 percent of their MASA grant on apprenticeship, a proven model that trains workers while they earn a paycheck and offers a valuable alternative to college. 

Support Space Flight.  The Budget refocuses the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) funding on beating China back to the Moon and on putting the first human on Mars.  By allocating over $7 billion for lunar exploration and introducing $1 billion in new investments for Mars-focused programs, it ensures that America’s human space exploration efforts remain unparalleled, innovative, and efficient.  To achieve these objectives, the Budget would streamline the NASA workforce, IT services, NASA Center operations, facility maintenance, and construction and environmental compliance activities.  The Budget also eliminates “green aviation” and other climate scam programs as well as failing space propulsion projects.

Maintain Support for Tribal Nations.  The Budget preserves Federal funding for the Indian Health Service and supports core programs at the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education, sustaining the Federal Government’s support for core programs that benefit tribal communities.  The Budget also weeds out radical woke grants and programs and streamlines other programs for tribal communities that were ineffective.

Address Drug Abuse.  The Administration is committed to combatting the scourge of deadly drugs that have ravaged American communities.  The Budget prioritizes Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) resources on traffickers of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs that are driving America’s overdose crisis.  This includes redirecting DEA’s foreign spending to regions with criminal organizations that traffic significant quantities of deadly drugs into the United States—Mexico, Central America, South America, and China. 

Support Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Research.  The Budget amply funds research in artificial intelligence and quantum information science at key agencies to ensure the United States remains on the cutting edge of these critical technologies’ development and responsible use.

Improve Wildland Firefighting.  Federal wildfire responsibilities currently are split across five agencies in two departments.  The Budget would consolidate firefighting responsibilities into a new Federal Wildland Fire Service at the Department of the Interior that would coordinate with non-Federal partners to combat the wildfire crisis.

The White House

May 2, 2025

Sources: WH.gov , Midtown Tribune
TV503.com

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