President Trump's Fiscal Year Discretionary Spending Budget Request

Key Chapter Title List

1. Supporting Spaceflight
2. Proposed FY 2026 Budget Request by Discretionary Spending Category
3. FY 2026 Budget Request by Major Agency

Document Introduction

This document provides a summary of the core content of the FY 2026 federal government discretionary spending budget request proposed by the Trump Administration of the United States. Under the overall spending framework, this budget proposal implements significant structural adjustments in defense and non-defense areas, aiming to re-establish U.S. strategic priorities and demonstrate a commitment to fiscal responsibility. The core logic of the budget request is to address defined national strategic challenges by reducing non-defense base spending and concentrating resources on defense, critical homeland security areas, and signature space exploration projects.

The budget first clarifies its ambitions in the space domain. The document states that the budget will refocus NASA's funding, with the core goal of defeating China in the race to return to the Moon and laying the groundwork for the first human mission to Mars. To achieve this, the budget allocates over $70 billion for lunar exploration and adds a $1 billion investment for Mars-focused programs. To ensure the achievement of these goals and improve efficiency, the budget plans to streamline NASA's workforce, information technology services, center operations, facility maintenance, and construction and environmental compliance activities. Simultaneously, the budget will terminate several unaffordable missions and reduce lower-priority research, resulting in a leaner science program that reflects the commitment to fiscal responsibility.

Regarding the overall spending structure, as shown in Table 1, the total base discretionary spending request for FY 2026 is $1.6131 trillion, which is level with the FY 2025 enacted amount. However, its internal composition has undergone profound changes. Base defense spending (including pending budget reconciliation resources) increased from $892.6 billion to $1,011.9 billion, a rise of 13.4%. In contrast, base non-defense spending sharply decreased from $720.5 billion to $601.2 billion, a reduction of 16.6%. This increase and decrease clearly outline the overall direction of the budget tilting towards hard power areas. Particularly noteworthy is that the budget assumes the passage of a budget reconciliation bill, which would provide an additional $119.3 billion for defense activities and $43.8 billion for border security/non-defense activities in FY 2026, further strengthening funding for defense and border security.

Details of the budget allocation for major agencies (Table 2) further reveal the specific paths and magnitudes of resource adjustments. The Department of Defense budget (including reconciliation resources) increased from $848.3 billion to $961.6 billion. The Department of Homeland Security budget (including reconciliation resources) significantly increased from $65.1 billion to $107.4 billion, a substantial rise of 64.9%, highlighting the extreme priority of the border security issue. In stark contrast, several non-defense departments face significant cuts: the Department of Health and Human Services budget is reduced by $33.3 billion (-26.2%), the Department of Housing and Urban Development program level is cut by $33.6 billion (-43.6%), and the Department of State and International Programs budget (excluding rescissions) is reduced by $28.4 billion (-47.7%). The NASA budget decreased from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion (-24.3%), the National Science Foundation budget dropped from $8.8 billion to $3.9 billion (-55.8%), and the Environmental Protection Agency budget fell from $9.1 billion to $4.2 billion (-54.5%). The Department of Veterans Affairs budget saw an increase, reflecting continued support for this area.

In summary, this budget request is a policy document with distinct strategic orientation and fiscal austerity. By significantly adjusting the spending structure, it clearly directs resources towards core areas such as great power competition (space, defense) and homeland security (border), while compressing expenditures on non-defense civilian programs such as social welfare, scientific research, environmental protection, and diplomacy. This resource allocation plan reflects the proposer's assessment of the primary challenges facing the United States and the corresponding policy priorities. Its eventual implementation will have profound impacts on U.S. domestic and foreign affairs as well as the global strategic landscape.