The Trump administration on May 2 released a high-level or “skinny” budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2026 (PDF), which includes a preview of some of the president’s funding and policy recommendations across the federal government, including substantial proposed cuts to research and public health programs.
$163 billion (22.6%) cut to nondefense discretionary spending from FY 2025 levels, including reducing the Department of Health and Human Services’ topline funding by $33.3 billion, a 26.2% decrease below FY 2025 enacted levels.
Of note to the academic medicine community, the budget proposes a total of $27 billion in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which the materials describe as a decrease of $18 billion below current funding levels. The budget would eliminate funding for four NIH institutes and centers and proposes to restructure the agency into five consolidated focus areas. The document specifies that the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health would be retained amidst this restructuring.
The budget also proposes to consolidate several programs formerly administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, resulting in a $1.7 billion decrease in spending compared to FY 2025 enacted levels. The budget would reduce funding for health care workforce programs by a proposed $1 billion, noting that these programs provide “scholarships and support for individuals to enter high-paying medical careers.” The Trump administration announced in March that programs formerly administered by HRSA would be reorganized under the newly created Administration for a Healthy America.
The president’s proposal includes significant reductions in funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Of note, the proposal would increase funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs medical care program by $3.3 billion, with an emphasis on the VA community care program.
The budget request includes $500 million to support the work of President Trump’s Make America Healthy Again commission. The commission, established via executive order in February, is charged with lowering rates of chronic disease through a focus on exercise, nutrition, and food safety, among other factors.
The administration is expected to release a full budget request, which will provide more detailed funding breakdowns of the proposed changes, at a later date.