Trump budget proposes big cuts to tech and science agencies
photo illustration: Tiffany Herring/Axios; Photo: Kym Illman/Getty Images
President Trump's proposed FY 2026 budget massively slashes funding for key science and tech agencies.
Why it matters: Scientists and researchers, already severely battered down by DOGE job cuts and grant cancellations, are in for even more of a devastating shakeup if Congress adopts this budget.
- The proposed funding cuts come at a time when the U.S. is competing with China for the edge on everything from AI to biomedical research, and as the Trump administration argues beating Beijing is a key priority.
Driving the news: The budget proposes a $1.7 billion cut to the Department of Commerce, a 16.5% decrease, and a $4.9 billion cut for the National Science Foundation, a 55.8% decrease.
Yes, but: Funding for artificial intelligence and quantum initiatives is requested to be kept at the previous year's levels.
- That's technically a cut because there's no increase for inflation.
What they're saying: "The Budget maintains funding for research in artificial intelligence and quantum information science at key agencies, to ensure the United States remains on the cutting edge of these critical technologies' development and responsible use," the White House budget factsheet reads.
What the White House has released isn't as detailed on individual tech-related programs as past years. It does not address the antitrust division at the Department of Justice or other tech and AI initiatives broadly across other cabinet-level agencies.
Key things to note for tech and science include:
National Science Foundation: NSF is at the center of programs to spur AI, quantum and other cutting edge technology research and development. Trump wants to gut the agency's budget.
- Under his proposal, the agency would receive $3.9 billion in FY26, a whopping $4.9 billion cut from this year's enacted level.
- The president's budget calls for cutting funding across programs on climate, clean energy, and unspecified "low priority areas of science."
- Notably, the request says Congress should maintain funding for AI and quantum at current levels.
- Context: NSF recently lost its director, who resigned as the agency faced DOGE scrutiny and had to halt grants that were at odds with Trump's executive orders.
Department of Commerce: The budget allocates $134 million in "targeted investments to strengthen trade enforcement and aggressively protect American innovation."
- That includes a boost of $122 million for the Bureau of Industry and Security for protecting U.S. tech from Chinese threats; that money is also supposed to go toward "unfair and unbalanced trade" and reviving industrial manufacturing in the U.S.
- NIST did not fare as well in the Commerce budget. The historically under-funded agency getting a $325 million cut, which the budget says was money going toward a "radical climate agenda" and "environmental alarmism."
- The proposal does not appear to address the AI Safety Institute.
Flashback: Former President Biden's FY25 proposed budget had big tech and science asks meant for agencies to try to fulfill his AI executive order and to double down on R&D.
- Biden's request and subsequent budgets passed by Congress didn't come close to fulfilling original goals.
- Now the proposed funding for many initiatives once thought to be key to U.S. dominance in tech and science would be even lower.
What's next: Congress gets to have its say. Expect the appropriations process to kick into high gear.
