White House releases president’s 'skinny' budget proposal for FY 2026

May 8, 2025

On May 2, 2025, the White House released President Trump's “skinny” budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2026. The request proposes significant cuts to discretionary spending, cutting non-defense programs by more than $163 billion.

Below is a chart of the research funding accounts that the Societies follow. Much of this information is estimated, but as you can see, the scale is significant. Of particular note is the NIFA language that indicates funding is pulled from formula funds and moved to competitive programs. The balance between capacity and competitive funding is one that the ag research community has long tried to maintain since both kinds of funding are important.

Program^a	FY25 final (CR)^b	FY26 PBR^c (estimated)	$ change	% change
USDA – NIFA overall	$1,679 million	$1,077 million	-$602 million	-36%
USDA – ARS + ERS + NASS	$2,123 million	$1,964 million	-$159 million	-7%
USDA – Forest Service Research	$300 million	$0	-$300 million	-100%
NSF	$9,060 million	$4,358 million	-$4,702 million	-52%
DOE–Office of Science	$8,240 million	$7,092 million	-$1,148 million	-14%
ARPA-E	$460 million	$200 million	-$260 million	-57%
^a NIFA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture; ARS, Agricultural Research Service; ERS, Economic Research Service; NASS, National Agricultural Statistics Service; NSF, National Science Foundation; DOE, Department of Energy; ARPA-E, Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy. ^b CR, Continuing Resolution. ^c PBR, President's Budget Request.

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