Trump's proposed cut in funding: A potential 34% decrease in federal basic research support under the Trump administration's plan
Trump's Proposed Budget Threatens U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness
President Trump's proposed budget for the 2026 financial year includes steep cuts to federal funding for basic research, putting U.S. innovation, scientific progress, and competitiveness at risk.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is facing a 57% reduction, while the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is looking at a nearly 43% cut. According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), these proposals would reduce basic research funding by approximately 34%, from $45 billion to $30 billion.
If the proposed cuts are adopted by Congress, the U.S. could run the risk of not reaping the economic benefits from the science and engineering that leads to innovations. Joanne Padrón Carney, the AAAS's chief government relations officer, states that these cuts would bring basic and applied research funding levels back to those not seen since the late 1990s, when taking inflation into account.
The economic impacts of these cuts could be severe. Thousands of university research grants and jobs linked to research activity would be jeopardized, contributing substantially to technology development, economic growth, and workforce training. Reductions in federal R&D funding could weaken U.S. leadership in emerging industries, hinder energy independence, and reduce overall competitiveness globally.
Scientific impacts would involve a loss of capacity to advance critical fields such as biomedical research, climate science, and space exploration. NIH cuts would constrain medical research and disease-specific programs, while NASA’s science programs face a 47% cut, imperiling missions of scientific and exploratory value. The budget also targets social sciences and STEM access programs, further limiting science and innovation diversity.
National security impacts stem from reduced Department of Energy research and National Laboratory funding that underpin technological advances critical for defense, energy security, and innovation leadership. Reduced investment threatens maintaining the U.S.’s strategic edge in science and technology against rising global competitors.
Opposition from the Senate reflects these concerns, with appropriations bills proposing increases or maintaining funding for NIH and other agencies despite Trump’s proposed cuts. This tension between the administration’s budget proposal and congressional priorities highlights the potential for a contentious budget process in the coming months.
John Holdren, an environmental and climate scientist who was science adviser to former president Barack Obama, considers these cuts as 'terrible' for U.S. scientific progress. Neal Lane, a physicist who served as science adviser to former president Bill Clinton and previously as director of the NSF, considers these funding cuts in science as 'unprecedented'.
If Congress sustains these reductions, the U.S. could cede its position of global scientific and technical leadership that it has held for 80 years, since the end of the second world war. The proposed cuts could curtail the U.S.'s capabilities to compete with countries like China on biomedicine, quantum computer, and artificial intelligence.
In summary, Trump’s 2026 budget proposal would significantly cut federal basic research funding, with broad negative consequences across economic growth, scientific innovation, and national security. These cuts risk ceding technological leadership and diminish the U.S.'s ability to address major challenges such as health, climate change, and global competitiveness.
[1] National Science Foundation Faces 57% Cut in Trump's 2026 Budget Proposal [2] Senate Appropriations Committee Rejects Trump's Cuts to NIH [3] Trump's 2026 Budget Proposal Threatens U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness [4] Trump's Proposed Budget Cuts Would Jeopardize U.S. Leadership in Science and Technology [5] Trump's Budget Proposal for 2026: What's at Stake for Science
- The 57% reduction in the National Science Foundation's funding as part of President Trump's 2026 budget proposal could potentially shift the U.S.'s prominence in science and technology to rising global competitors, as stated in the general news report.
- In contrast to the proposed budget cuts, the Senate's Appropriations Committee has refused to accept Trump's reductions to the National Institutes of Health's funding, demonstrating that politics may play a role in the budget process, according to news on general-news and politics.
