Trump’s budget application is reduced to federal scientific agencies: the bridge: connect science and politics

On Friday, May 2, President Trump launched a “skinny” version of your fiscal year (for fiscal year) 2026 Budget application. This skinny budget describes the president’s budgetary priorities, including cuts and increases in financing and their thematic priorities for fiscal year 2026. Although Congress and interested parties need the president’s total budget application to completely understand their priorities and plans of 2026, the skinny budget is sufficient for Congress, especially appropriators, to begin to determine their priorities and drafting legislation.

As previously expected, the president’s budget demonstrates his desire to remodel the federal government, emphasizing the cuts of steep expenses in most non -defense programs. Many agencies and programs of Earth and Space are 10% face more than 50%.

Summary of financing levels (in millions)

*The 2025 promulgated column reflects the score of the OMB allocations promulgated in the Law on Continuous Assignments of the whole year, 2025, and the Supplementary Assignments Law of Help for Disaster. This level does not include $ 2.9 billion in emergency funds provided by 2025 by the Congress that the president was not designated as an emergency, since these amounts are not available for the obligation.

** The proposed application consolidating Niehs with other institutes, so a comparison is not possible.

Key agency impacts:

• The Energy Department (DOE) It receives approximately a 9% cut in funds of the expense levels of fiscal year 2025. Within Doe, the Science Office received a cut of almost 14% in funds. The application indicates that much of that cut will be directed to funds for the investigation of climate change, while funds will be maintained for high performance computing, artificial intelligence, quantum information sciences, fusion and critical minerals. In addition, the application drastically reduces funds for energy efficiency and renewable energy (EERE), as well as the Agency for Advanced Research Projects: Energy (ARPA-E), by 74% and 56% respectively.

• The president’s budget application cuts the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for more than 54%. Specifically, the application would reduce the Office of Research Development by $ 235 million by putting an end to research subsidies, environmental justice and climatic research, and focusing on legally required research in the central mission areas. The administration would also eliminate the EPA $ 100 million environmental program and its atmospheric protection program of $ 100 million.

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) The financing is reduced by 24% in the president’s budget application. Significantly, the Directorate of the Science Mission (SMD) is reduced by almost 47%, and the Stem Commitment Office is defined and eliminated. Within NASA’s SMD, only the cut to land science is specified in almost 53%. Although a Budget document previously filtered It suggests that all science mission areas will feel steep cuts. The request also requires the restructuring of the next Landsat mission, Landsat Next, and cancels the return of the Mars sample, which suggests that a human Mars mission can recover the samples. Consequently, the application promises one billion dollars for new mart programs. By explaining the elimination of the Stem participation office, the budget application establishes that the office has a minimum impact on the Aerospace Work Force and that NASA’s ambitious missions are sufficient to inspire the next generation of students to follow STEM fields.

• The administration proposes the elimination of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIHS). Instead, the National Health Institutes would be forwarded and reform in five new focus areas: 1. National Institute for Body Systems Research, 2nd National Institute of Neuroscience and Brain Research 3. National Institute of General Medical Sciences 4. National Institute of Research Related to Disability and 5. National Institute of Behavioral Health. It is not clear where environmental health science would be located if it continues. However, the Administration proposes $ 500 million for an initiative Make America Healthy Again (Maha), which would include the study of environmental impacts on human health throughout the Department of Health and Human Services.

• He Oceanic and Atmospheric National Administration (NOA) It would be reduced by almost 25%. The proposed budget eliminates several research programs, data and climate -centered subsidies that are considered inconsistent with the Administration Policy Directorate. The reduction of funds for NOAA will have long -term devastating effects, such as dismantling regional climate adaptation associations that help cities to plan the increase in sea level and reduce the accuracy of the hurricane forecast by limiting investments in satellite data.

• The president’s budget application cuts the National Science Foundation (NSF) for more than 55%. The budget application explains that it is reducing funds for climatic research, clean energy, as well as social, behavioral and economic sciences. In addition, the budget cuts more than one billion in funds for programs aimed at expanding participation in Stem. 93% of NSF funds are dispersed through subsidies, contracts and cooperative agreements, and NSF finances 62% of all basic geoscience research in universities and other academic institutions, so the impact on the community of land science and space will be dramatic. In addition, the reports indicate that we can expect steep cuts to the Graduate Research Program (GRFP) program, as well as fund cuts to build and maintain the key infrastructure, including Antarctica facilities.

• He US Geological Service. (USGS) would receive more than one 38%cut. The administration proposes to eliminate USGS programs that finance university grants, double other federal research efforts or focus on climate change. Instead, it proposes to redirect resources to advance American energy and the domain of critical minerals. A cut of this magnitude for the financing of the USGS would put lives and infrastructure at risk, including the arrest of the national maps of earthquake hazards used to establish construction codes, delay the monitoring of the critical groundwater for the regions of the Nation of the Nation, and reduce support to volcano observers as those that monitor the assembly of St. Helens and Kilauea.

The president’s budget application has serious implications for our federal scientific agencies and the United States scientific company. However, it is essential to remember that Congress has the power of the bag and controls federal funds. To commit to Congress is the only way to overcome these proposed cuts, and AGU has many opportunities for our community to speak for science, including our visits to the June Congress.

Meeting with its legislators is the action of greatest impact that it can take to shape politics. This June 3-4, 2025, AGU is organizing a workshop and special visiting event of Congress in Washington, DC AG will prepare it to meet with its legislators and schedule its meetings. Get more information About the event and apply Before Friday, May 9.