Trump Administration Proposes 2026 Health and Human Services Budget
The full HHS budget for fiscal year 2026 would be more than $30 billion less than the agency received in both FY 2024 and 2025.
In addition to reductions ordered to date, the Trump administration has proposed cutting tens of billions of dollars from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) and its agencies in fiscal year 2026, along with other key organizations including the National Science Foundation.
The fiscal year began on Oct. 1; the federal government largely shut down for 43 days before Congress in mid-November approved a short-term budget through the end of January.
“The most likely outcome at this point looks like a full-year continuing resolution (or several smaller resolutions spaced throughout the year), which may be subject to impoundment attempts by the Office of Management and Budget,” says Cole Donovan, associate director of science and technology ecosystem development at the Federation of American Scientists.
The full HHS budget for fiscal year 2026 would be set at $94.7 billion, more than $30 billion less than the agency received in both fiscal years 2024 and 2025. The Trump administration says the cuts reflect the departmental reorganization to “save taxpayer dollars and streamline the functions of the Department in order to end our country’s chronic illness epidemic.”
- The National Institutes of Health budget would be cut by roughly 40% from its fiscal year 2025 level, from nearly $46 billion to $27.9 billion. The workforce decreases to 16,297 full-time equivalents (FTEs).
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) budget would be more than halved, from $9.2 billion in each of the last two years, to $4.3 billion. The workforce decreases to 7,571 FTEs.
- The Food and Drug Administration budget would be cut from over $7 billion to $6.6 billion. The workforce decreases to 16,875 FTEs.
- The HHS Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response receives no funding, eliminating its $3.6 billion total budget as it shifts to the CDC.
In addition, in its proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, the NSF requested approximately $3.9 billion from Congress, a 57% decrease from the $9.1 billion for fiscal year 2025.
