Despite the overwhelming grassroots opposition to the idea, the Trump administration has unveiled another budget proposal. For FY 2024, it seeks to reduce overall federal spending by almost 23 percent – or $163 billion in cuts. If passed, the spending plan would lower overall spending to $1.69 trillion for the next fiscal year. This ambitious blueprint would truly reinvent many of the nation’s most expensive government programs. It makes deep cuts to intelligence agencies, foreign aid, and scientific research.
The administration has proposed severe cuts across the board, including many critical investments. This strategy would completely reimagine the federal budget to reflect our fiscal priorities in a big picture sense. The Administration’s proposal puts national defense and infrastructure front and center. Simultaneously, it would reduce funding for other categories of spending, a provocative method of governance that would certainly stir significant controversy in Congress.
Major Cuts to Intelligence and Science Agencies
One of the most notable aspects of the budget proposal is the planned personnel cuts at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other key U.S. spy agencies. These proposed reductions underscore the administration’s desire for fiscal restraint, but they pose risks to our national security and intelligence capabilities.
Further, the Office of Management and Budget proposal represents an astounding overall cut of 24 percent from NASA’s current budget of $24.8 billion. This reduction threatens to impact major science programs that support thousands of researchers globally. That’s because the overall proposal cuts NASA’s science budget by an unfathomable 47 percent. Yet, it continues full funding for human exploration efforts and deep space/Mars initiatives.
The new budget drastically reduces funding for the CDC. It takes an especially hard line on the National Institutes of Health (NIH), slashing the agency by $2.85 billion. The combined effects of these cuts would set back efforts to improve public health and scientific progress, resulting in widespread opposition from a variety of advocacy organizations.
Defense Spending and Infrastructure Investments
National security is a primary focus in the president’s budget proposal, which requests $892.6 billion for defense spending in fiscal year 2026. This number has put it in line with current conversations around global military readiness and defense lethality.
The proposal provides $360 million to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This increase in funding will allow for the hiring and salary increases of new air traffic controllers, as well as new defense spending. It allocates $400 million to rail safety and infrastructure improvements, mirroring the commitment to safe transportation in all modes outlined in the Biden-Harris administration’s Justice40 Initiative.
Senator Mitch McConnell commented on the importance of defense spending, stating, “America cannot expect our allies to heed calls for greater annual defence spending if we are unwilling to lead by example.” This feeling of encirclement and siege mentality in turn is driving the administration’s push to increase defense budgets, even as they order cuts in other essential sectors.
Foreign Aid and Domestic Programs
The budget proposal outlines a dramatic cut in foreign aid, removing $49 billion from current programs. This shift marks a much needed redirection of U.S. foreign policy priorities. It would wreak havoc with our international relations with many countries that depend on U.S. support.
We understand that the administration intends to severely curtail foreign aid. Further, it calls for reducing $308 million in appropriations for the Essential Air Service program, which maintains commercial air service to rural, often geographically isolated airports. Such cuts would disproportionately harm the ability of residents in more rural and remote areas to access necessary services.
Yet the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would be hit by a budget cut of more than $2 billion. This significant reduction would severely impact its capacity to enforce the nation’s tax laws. Even worse, these huge reductions run contrary to a positive national and state trend. Now funding for agencies that currently govern, serve, and protect the public good is drying up.
“TSA has consistently failed audits while implementing intrusive screening measures that violate Americans’ privacy and dignity.” – The White House
