White House Proposes Cutting EPA Funding by 50% While Military Budget Jumps to $1.5 Trillion

The White House has proposed cutting the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget nearly in half while raising defense spending to a record $1.5 trillion in the same fiscal year. The administration’s 2027 budget proposal, released April 3, calls for a 10 percent reduction in overall federal spending, with science and environmental agencies accounting for some of the deepest cuts on the table.

The proposed cuts span several of the country’s most prominent research institutions. The National Science Foundation, which funds basic research across virtually every scientific field outside medicine, would see its budget fall by nearly 55 percent, from $8.8 billion to $4 billion. The EPA faces a nearly identical percentage reduction, from $8.8 billion to $4.2 billion, targeting pollution regulation, greenhouse gas tracking, and public health programs.

Both agencies have repeatedly drawn scrutiny under the Trump administration. The EPA regulates toxic chemicals, industrial emissions, and air quality standards, while also tracking the science behind climate change. The administration described the cuts as part of broader efforts to eliminate what it calls the “globalist climate agenda” and redirect spending toward what it considers national priorities, including defense and domestic energy production.

Every Major Federal Science Agency Would Lose Funding Under the 2027 Proposal

The proposal reaches well beyond the EPA and NSF. NASA would lose roughly $5.6 billion, dropping from $24.4 billion to $18.8 billion. NOAA, which runs the National Weather Service and oversees climate research, would be reduced from $6.2 billion to $4.5 billion. The National Institutes of Health faces a 13 percent reduction, from $47.2 billion to $41.3 billion, according to Nature News.

At an internal meeting on April 3, NSF leaders announced the dissolution of the agency’s Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, which funds research on economics and social science. The administration says it will preserve grants aligned with behavioral and cognitive science, though NSF’s quantum information research would still be cut by 37 percent and AI funding by 32 percent from 2025 levels.

The proposal also includes a ban on using federal funds to cover subscription and publishing fees for academic journals, a change that could affect how publicly funded research is distributed. The Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which runs national laboratories and supports energy technology research, would be cut from $8.4 billion to $7.1 billion.

Over $15 Billion in Clean Energy Funding Would Be Canceled Under the Proposal

The proposal cancels more than $15 billion in Department of Energy funds tied to renewable energy, carbon capture, and related technologies, which the administration has described as costly and burdensome to consumers. Roughly $4.7 billion from the Biden-era Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act would be redirected toward what the budget describes as firm baseload power, or sources that generate electricity continuously, which generally excludes wind and solar.

The electric vehicle sector would also see losses under the proposal. The budget would end federal subsidies for EV battery manufacturers, pull $4 billion in Transportation Department funding for electric vehicle charging networks, and eliminate the $4 billion Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps lower-income households manage energy costs. Last year, the administration moved to repeal California’s authority to set stricter vehicle emission standards than federal law.

The EPA’s proposed cuts would also eliminate funding for its Superfund cleanup program, environmental justice programs, and drinking water initiatives, which the proposal describes as advancing “discriminatory and radical ideological projects.” The same NOAA budget reduction would specifically target climate research and educational grant programs, which the proposal says spread “baseless environmental alarm.”

Congress Rejected Similar Cuts Last Year

Congress, which holds the power to approve federal spending, rejected the administration’s proposed science cuts for fiscal year 2026 and even restored funding for some targeted programs. According to Alessandra Zimmermann, who tracks science budgets at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, negotiations could stretch until October 1, the start of the 2027 fiscal year, or beyond, given upcoming congressional elections in November.

Environmental groups and some lawmakers have already called for the budget to be rejected. The Ocean Conservancy warned that cutting NOAA’s funding would weaken weather forecasting, disrupt fisheries management, and slow ocean research. Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the budget committee, characterized the proposal as prioritizing military spending over housing, healthcare, education, and environmental protection. The Environmental Protection Network said the cuts would leave families more exposed to pollution, not less.

The Association of American Universities warned Congress that approving the cuts risks US global leadership in science, noting that China’s investment in research and development now outpaces America’s own. The group urged lawmakers to reject the proposals, as they did with last year’s budget. Whether Congress follows through remains uncertain, but should Congress approve any version of the proposal, research institutions and environmental agencies would feel the change when the fiscal year begins on October 1.