President’s FY27 Budget Request Unveiled: Defense Surges, Domestic Cuts

On Friday, April 3, 2026, the President released his fiscal year (FY) 2027 Budget Request. This request includes $1.5 trillion for defense spending, a 44 percent increase over FY26 enacted levels and $73 billion in non-defense spending, representing a 10 percent cut from the previous year.

The White House continues to focus on dismantling many programs within the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and requests $76.5 billion in discretionary spending, a $2.3 billion or 2.9 percent decrease from the FY26 enacted funding level.

Within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the President requests $111.1 billion in discretionary funding, a $15.8 billion or 12.5 percent decrease from the 2026 enacted funding level. The budget seeks to reorganize aspects of HHS, establishing the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA), prioritizing programs that prevent chronic disease and improve nutrition, food and drug quality and safety standards. Many programs that were formerly in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health are eliminated or moved to AHA.

The budget requests $41 billion for National Institutes of Health (NIH) research, a $5 billion cut from the FY26 enacted level and proposes reforms to NIH, including the elimination of the following Centers: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Fogarty International Center and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, among other NIH reforms. An AACOM FY27 budget analysis is forthcoming.