Trump’s 2027 Budget Request: What to Know

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration issued its 2027 budget request on April 3.

As Operation Epic Fury continues, President Donald Trump is asking for significantly more defense spending. His administration’s request also seeks cuts to domestic spending.

Although Congress is out of session, key lawmakers are already voicing their opinions. Over the coming months, the budget and appropriations processes in the House and Senate will shape what is spent and where it goes.

For now, here’s what you should know.

A Surge for Defense

The request, issued by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, encompasses $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon.

Defense spending would increase by $441 billion from 2026.

The highlights include funding for a national missile defense system, Trump’s Golden Dome.

The request would also raise the pay of military personnel and increase spending on domestic supply chains and critical minerals.

Another top agenda item is $65.8 billion to bolster shipbuilding and shipyard capacity.

In addition, the administration wants to resupply 12 important munitions, stating that the demand they would create would spur growth in the United States’ defense industrial base.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), whose committee is charged with reviewing Trump’s budget, has lauded the proposed increase, describing it as “more than justified” by the threats that the United States faces throughout the world.

Democrats on the committee, led by ranking member Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), have criticized that element of the request, warning that it could raise the national debt and questioning the legality of the United States’ conflict with Iran.

Congress has not passed resolutions that would constrain the president’s actions in that conflict.

Reconciliation in Play

Under the request, the $1.5 trillion in defense spending could arrive via two separate paths.

A majority, $1.1 trillion, could come through regular appropriations, and $350 billion could come through budget reconciliation, described in the request as mandatory spending.

Reconciliation would sidestep the filibuster, allowing Senate Republicans to advance the funding with a simple majority vote.

Defense spending in 2026, which totaled more than $1 trillion, included more than $150 billion made available through budget reconciliation.

The possibility of reconciliation-driven defense spending comes as GOP leaders in Congress work to fund part of the Department of Homeland Security through that avenue.

In a joint statement on April 1, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) outlined a two-track approach to reopen the agency.

Under the plan, a party-line reconciliation bill could support border security and immigration enforcement for three years, while everything else in the department would be funded through a spending bill subject to the filibuster.

During an April 2 session, the House did not take up the spending bill relayed to it by the Senate.

Cuts to EPA, Other Agencies

The boost to defense spending would be paired with $73 billion in cuts on the domestic side of the ledger. That would reduce nondefense spending by 10 percent.

The request seeks to decrease funding to the Environmental Protection Agency by more than 50 percent, lowering it by $4.6 billion.

It also targets funds for housing, home investment, and other areas under the Department of Housing and Urban Development, seeking to eliminate $10.7 billion for programs that it states have supported “woke and leftist organizations.”

Although the request would boost overall funding for the Department of Energy by $4.8 billion, it would shed more than $15 billion for green energy programs made available through the Biden-era Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The Trump administration would also decrease spending on the National Endowment for Democracy by $350 million, effectively defunding it.

Other cuts include $8.5 billion in K–12 programs under the Department of Education and $5 billion from the National Institutes of Health. It would also rescind $4 billion in funding intended for high-speed rail in California.

Merkley took issue with the president’s domestic spending proposal, saying it has “less for the things people need, like housing, health care, education, roads, scientific research, and environmental protection.”

Justice, National Park Service, Aviation Safety Gain

Some departments and programs outside the Pentagon would gain resources under the administration’s plan.

The request seeks $4.7 billion more for the Department of Justice, stating that the new spending would “maximize the Department’s capacity to bring violent criminals to justice.”

In addition, the Trump administration wants $10 billion for the National Park Service, stating it would be used as part of a program “to coordinate, plan, and execute targeted, priority construction and beautification projects in and around Washington, D.C.”

The president’s budget would also boost the Department of Transportation’s funding by $1.6 billion. That would include $481 million to support air traffic controllers and other operations of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Other highlights include hundreds of millions of dollars for manned and robotic lunar missions intended to seed a permanent base on the moon.