Trump FY2026 Budget Seeks Record $1.01 Trillion for Defense, Cuts $163 Billion From Domestic Programs

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Published May 2, 2025, 04:07 PM

The White House on Friday released President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget blueprint, a so-called “skinny” request that will serve as the administration’s opening bid in negotiations with Congress.

The plan seeks a record US$1.01 trillion for national security, a 13 percent increase from the current fiscal year. Roughly US$961 billion would go to the Defense Department, while Homeland Security outlays would jump 65 percent to about US$175 billion. Priority areas cited by officials include missile-defense programs, nuclear-force modernization, shipbuilding, strengthened border security and a 3.8 percent pay raise for uniformed personnel.

To offset the defense buildup, non-defense discretionary spending would be reduced to about US$557 billion—US$163 billion, or roughly 23 percent, less than projected fiscal-2025 levels. Cuts would target health research, climate and clean-energy initiatives, education, foreign assistance and other domestic programs. The proposal would trim foreign aid alone by US$49 billion and set non-defense outlays at their lowest share of the budget since 2000.

Taken together, the blueprint calls for US$1.7 trillion in discretionary spending, 7.6 percent below last year’s enacted figure. The administration did not provide deficit projections; detailed tax and mandatory-spending proposals are expected later in the year. The budget faces an uncertain path on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers from both parties will now begin to draft their own appropriations measures.

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