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Research & Developments is a blog for brief updates that provide context for the flurry of news regarding law and policy changes that impact science and scientists today.These updates are made possible through information from the scientific community. Do you have a story about how changes in law or policy are affecting scientists or research? Send us a tip at .Text © 2025. AGU. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.Related
Research & Developments is a blog for brief updates that provide context for the flurry of news regarding law and policy changes that impact science and scientists today.
President Trump’s proposed 2026 budget, released today, slashes non-defense discretionary spending by $163 billion, a 22.6% reduction from 2025.
In the budget request, sent from Russell T. Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, to Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, Vought wrote that the suggestions came after a rigorous review of the 2025 budget, which was found to be “tilted toward funding niche non-governmental organizations and institutions of higher education committed to radical gender and climate ideologies antithetical to the American way of life.”
Among the proposed cuts:
- A 9.4% cut, or $4.7 billion, to the Department of Energy
- In addition, the budget proposes cancelling “over $15 billion in Green New Scam funds, committed to build unreliable renewable energy, removing carbon dioxide from the air, and other costly technologies burdensome to ratepayers and consumers.”
- A 54% cut, or $5 billion, to the Environmental Protection Agency
- This includes eliminating the EPA’s environmental justice program and atmospheric protection program, as well as cutting funds for the Hazardous Substance Superfund and the Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Funds.
- “Trump’s plan to virtually eliminate federal funding for clean, safe water represents a malevolent disregard for public health. Even by Trump’s appalling standards, this direct attack on a benchmark water safety program is unconscionable,” said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter in a statement.
- A 30.5% cut, or $5.1 billion, to the Interior Department, including $198 billion from the Bureau of Land Management, $900 million from the National Park Service, and $564 million from the U.S. Geological Survey
- From the proposal: “Eliminates programs that provide grants to universities, duplicate other Federal research programs and focus on social agendas (e.g. climate change) to instead focus on achieving dominance in energy and critical minerals.”
- A 24.3% cut, or $6 billion, to NASA, including a 47% cut to the science budget
- Among many other cuts, the budget “eliminates funding for low-priority climate monitoring satellites,” “reduces Space Technology by approximately half,” and “terminate[s] unaffordable missions such as the Mars Sample Return Mission.” It suggests cutting the lunar Gateway, Space Launch System rocket, and Orion capsule, as well as the Office of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) engagement. NASA’s overall cut takes into account a proposed $647 million budget increase for human space exploration.
- In a statement, The Planetary Society urged Congress to reject the proposed budget, calling it “a historic step backward for American leadership in space science, exploration, and innovation.”
- In a statement, the American Astronomical Society expressed “grave concerns” over these cuts, and said, “This will derail not only cutting-edge scientific advances, but also the training of the nation’s future STEM workforce.”
- A 55.8% cut, or $4.9 billion, to the National Science Foundation
- From the proposal: “The Budget cuts funding for: climate; clean energy; woke social, behavioral, and economic sciences; and programs in low priority areas of science. NSF has fueled research with dubious public value, like speculative impacts from extreme climate scenarios and niche social studies.”
- An approximately 25% cut, or $1.5 billion, to NOAA
- From the proposal: “The Budget terminates a variety of climate-dominated research, data, and grant programs, which are not aligned with Administration policy-ending “Green New Deal” initiatives.”
The budget proposal also includes suggestions to increase defense spending by 13%, to $1.01 trillion; and for “a historic $175 billion investment to, at long last, fully secure our border.”
—Emily Dieckman (@emfurd.bsky.social), Associate Editor
These updates are made possible through information from the scientific community. Do you have a story about how changes in law or policy are affecting scientists or research? Send us a tip at [email protected].
Text © 2025. AGU. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.
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