The White House has released United States President Donald Trump's 2026 budget proposal, amid a push by the new administration to slash $US163 billion ($252.5 billion) from the federal coffers amid a sweeping restructure of domestic priorities.
The US Office of Management and Budget provided details on Friday local time of a so-called skinny version of budgetary numbers, covering only the federal government's discretionary spending — which now stands at about $US1.83 trillion ($2.83 trillion) a year on defence and non-defence accounts.
President Trump's team wants to decrease that spending by almost 23 per cent, or $US163 billion, to $US1.69 trillion.
One of the top-line inclusions is a hope that Congress will approve $US375 billion in new money for the Homeland Security and Defense departments as part of Mr Trump's "big, beautiful bill" of tax cuts and spending reductions.
Here are some of the other key takeaways from the White House's proposed budget plan.
Deep cuts to government departments, big boost for defence
The US State Department and international programs would lose 84 per cent of their money and receive just $US9.6 billion in fresh funding — reflecting deep cuts already underway, including to the US Agency for International Development.
The Health and Human Services Department would also be cut by $US33.3 billion, funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development would be cut almost in half, and the Education Department’s spending would be reduced by $US12 billion.
Non-defence discretionary spending, which excludes the massive Social Security and Medicare programs and rising interest payments on the nation's debt, would be cut by 23 per cent to the lowest level since 2017.
More than $US2 billion would also be slashed from the tax-collecting Internal Revenue Service, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health would all face steep reductions.
The Defense Department would get an additional $US113.3 billion and Homeland Security would receive an almost 65 per cent, $US42.3 billion boost.
The Trump administration says it is requesting a national defence budget of $US892.6 billion for the 2026 fiscal year, with a focus on rebuilding the US military and promoting national security.
Much of that is contingent on Congress approving President Trump's big bill, amid criticism from political opponents such as former Republican Party leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, who has described the proposed boost as a "gimmick".
“America cannot expect our allies to heed calls for greater annual defence spending if we are unwilling to lead by example," he said.
"Fortunately, presidential budget requests are just that: requests. Congress will soon have an opportunity to ensure that American power — and the credibility of our commitments — are appropriately resourced."
NASA moon program slashed, but focus still on Mars
The proposal seeks to axe key parts of NASA's moon program with a $US6 billion cut for the space agency's 2026 budget, but provides a boost to the Mars-focused agenda pushed by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
The plan cancels NASA's over-budget Space Launch System, a gigantic rocket built by Boeing and Northrop Grumman, and its Lockheed Martin-built Orion crew capsule after their third mission in 2027 under the agency's Artemis program.
Cutting 24 per cent of NASA's current $US24.8 billion budget, the proposal also threatens to cancel major science programs affecting thousands of researchers worldwide.
It would also up-end active contracts defended for years in Washington by an array of established NASA contractors and overturn missions and programs in which US allies play key roles, such as the European Space Agency, Canada and Japan.
Nearly all parts of NASA face deep cuts except for its human exploration portfolio, in which the administration proposed a $US1 billion boost for "Mars-focused programs."
This portends a major revision to the Artemis effort that leans toward SpaceX CEO Musk's vision to send humans to the Red Planet, amid a US push to first return humans to the moon before Chinese astronauts get there in 2030
A White House budget summary called SLS and Orion "grossly expensive" projects that have far exceeded their budgets. Critics called the cuts, including a 47 per cent cut to NASA's science budget, "a historic step backward" for the country's space efforts.
Planned downsizing of US spy agencies
The Trump administration's budget proposal plans significant personnel cuts at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other major US spy units, according to the Washington Post.
The CIA plans to cut 1,200 positions, along with thousands more from other parts of the US intelligence community, the newspaper reported.
Those proposed cuts come a day after the CIA distributed two Chinese-language videos aimed at enticing officials in China to leak sensitive information to the US, in the latest public-facing effort by American government agents to increase the gathering of information on Beijing.
American intelligence agencies said in March that China remained the top military and cyber threat to the US, noting that China had the ability to hit the United States with conventional weapons, compromise US infrastructure through cyber attacks and target its assets in space.
More cuts coming to transport safety body
The White House plans to cut funding for the US Transportation Security Administration by $US247 million, while boosting spending on rail and air safety.
The budget proposal seeks another $US360 million for the Federal Aviation Administration to support air traffic controller hiring and salary increases and updates to its outdated telecommunications systems, and $US400 million in new rail safety and infrastructure.
It also calls for cutting funding by $US308 million for Essential Air Service, which subsidies commercial air service to rural airports.
A persistent shortage of controllers has delayed flights, and many controllers are working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks. The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels.
In its proposal to cut TSA officer levels, the White House said: "TSA has consistently failed audits while implementing intrusive screening measures that violate Americans' privacy and dignity."
Big contributions to development fund for world's poorest countries
Despite all of the domestic cuts to government departments planned by President Trump, his budget proposal plans to ask Congress to approve $US3.2 billion in contributions to the World Bank's International Development Association — which provides low- or zero-interest loans to the world's poorest countries.
International finance experts hailed the sum, to be paid over three years, as a welcome surprise, given recent worries that Mr Trump could skip making any contribution to IDA.
The new funding will help the World Bank get close to its goal of raising $US100 billion for IDA by leveraging countries' contributions.
The budget proposal, however, also cuts foreign aid by $US49 billion, a senior official with the Office of Management and Budget told reporters.
ABC/wires
