WSJ: Trump to unveil budget blueprint slashing climate, foreign aid, education spending

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to unveil a fiscal 2026 budget proposal on May 2 that calls for deep reductions in non-defence discretionary spending, according to senior administration officials.

The plan, which outlines the White House’s political and spending priorities, proposes $557 billion in such funding, down $163 billion from projected 2025 levels, Caliber.Az reports per The Wall Street Journal.

The budget would amount to a 22.6% cut in non-defence discretionary expenditure, although it remains unclear how that figure was calculated. This category of spending, which excludes defence, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, funds key sectors such as education, public health, and infrastructure.

“This is a budget that will rein in wasteful Washington spending and return power to the states and the American people,” said one senior administration official.

The proposal also calls for increased funding for border security, defence, veterans’ services, and air and rail safety, reflecting Trump’s long-standing priorities.

The 2026 blueprint is being described as a “skinny budget” in Washington—a preliminary proposal often issued in the first year of a new administration that sets out top-line funding targets ahead of a more detailed request expected later this month. Congress, narrowly controlled by Republicans, will spend months negotiating which elements to adopt into law.

The administration, led by billionaire Elon Musk’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has already begun dismantling agencies and laying off federal employees. Musk has pledged to cut $150 billion in the coming fiscal year and identify $1 trillion in long-term savings.

Documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal reveal major proposed cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Energy Department, Interior Department, Housing and Urban Development, Education Department, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), among others.

The budget aims to eliminate funding for many programmes enacted during Joe Biden’s presidency. Grants supporting climate resilience, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and green technology are among those marked for elimination. The proposal also calls on states and local governments to bear greater financial responsibility for services currently funded federally.

Among the key cuts and eliminations listed by administration officials:

• The closure of USAID and the transfer of remaining foreign aid functions to the State Department.

• The elimination of “wasteful and woke FEMA grant programmes” and DEI-focused preschool development grants.

• The defunding of the National Endowment for Democracy and the U.S. Institute of Peace.

• A $5.2 billion reduction in National Science Foundation funding.

• The cancellation of $15 billion in renewable energy technology funding from Biden’s infrastructure law.

• Cuts to the Energy Department’s renewable energy programme and NOAA’s grant schemes.

• The elimination of grants to NGOs from the EPA and the removal of “environmental justice” initiatives.

Programmes that promote minority business development, community finance, and teacher training linked to DEI and Critical Race Theory have also been targeted.

The administration says the NIH will be reoriented to focus on Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, shifting priorities away from what it sees as ideologically driven research.

Trump’s proposed budget is likely to face resistance from Democrats and moderate Republicans, particularly over cuts to popular programmes and international aid.

By Aghakazim Guliyev