The Trump administration proposed hundreds of millions in cuts to key science and technology-related agencies in its fiscal year (FY) 2027 budget proposal, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
If enacted, the proposed budget cut of $707 million would hit an already strained CISA, which is currently operating with nearly 1,000 fewer staff than it had in January 2025. The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) budget summary stated that the cut “refocuses CISA on its core mission … while eliminating weaponization and waste.”
Specifically, the document stated that “CISA was more focused on censorship than on protecting the Nation’s critical systems, and put them at risk due to poor management and inefficiency, as well as a focus on self-promotion.”
That statement echoes comments made last year by former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, who told Congress that CISA infringed on the First Amendment rights of Trump’s supporters during the 2024 elections.
Noem had referred to the agency’s election-focused entities focused on combating misinformation and propaganda, which were shuttered last spring. Noem told lawmakers in May that CISA was “back on mission,” and that entities detracting from CISA’s mission were “eliminated.”
While details were not provided in the document for what it is referring to when stating the proposal “eliminates programs focused on so-called misinformation and propaganda,” it did say that some funding cuts are to remove offices that duplicate “existing and effective programs” at the state and federal level.
Notably, the budget appendix showed a cut of around $360 million to CISA – a smaller cut than the one mentioned in the primary budget document. While the discrepancy is unclear between the two documents, both cuts would significantly reduce the agency’s typical funding levels.
The FY2026 budget proposal included roughly a $491 million cut to CISA, the first major cut to the agency since its creation in 2018. That number received pushback from both Republicans and Democrats who instead favored a much smaller cut of $134 million.
However, as a component of DHS, CISA has not received funding under a full-year DHS appropriations bill for FY2026. The department has instead been funded through a mix of continuing resolutions and temporary measures since Oct. 1, 2025, with the current DHS shutdown tied to ongoing disputes over immigration enforcement-related funding.
Other DHS cuts under the FY2027 proposal include a $52 million less in funds for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to begin “the privatization of TSA’s airport screeners.” According to the budget document, “The move would yield cost savings compared to Federal screening and begin reform of a troubled Federal agency.”
Without a full-year DHS budget, TSA workers have been without pay for multiple stretches – including late 2025 and spring of 2026 – which has resulted in high numbers of screeners calling out and others quitting, according to recent congressional testimony from TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill. Trump ordered last week that TSA employees be paid.
Small airports would be required to enroll in a TSA funded program for private screeners, according to the budget document.
Overall, the budget proposal includes $63 billion in discretionary budget authority for DHS, or a 3.3% decrease from the 2026 continuing resolution level.
Science and Energy Proposals
The Trump administration proposed an overall 12.2% decrease from FY2026 enacted funding levels for the Department of Commerce, leaving the department $9.2 billion in discretionary spending authority. Notably, the budget proposal would give the Bureau of Industry and Security a $215 million increase compared to its FY2026 enacted $235 million in funding.
OMB said that money would specifically support the creation of new special agent law enforcement officers that address “the theft of American innovation by malign actors.” It would also support Section 232 investigations, which includes evaluating imports of semiconductors and related equipment.
The budget proposal also decreases NIST’s budget by $993 million, which the Trump administration said is due to the agency focusing on “a radical climate agenda,” and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion principles.
It additionally proposed cutting $2.2 billion from the National Telecommunications and Information Agency. That cut would defund the NTIA’s Digital Equity program, which OMB said is unconstitutional and awarded “based on race.”
That program was funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which provided a historic $65 billion for broadband initiatives. The aim of the Digital Equity Act’s grant program was to promote the adoption and use of the internet among underrepresented communities and populations.
However, notices that those grants were canceled already began going out in May 2025 after Trump declared he would cancel the program.
OMB proposed a 10% increase in discretionary budget authority for the Department of Energy (DOE) – totaling $53.9 billion for the agency. The Trump administration said it wants to repurpose funding for clean energy under the IIJA to support its artificial intelligence initiatives. Specifically, $1.2 billion would support seven AI supercomputers at some of the DOE’s national laboratories. The document also noted $3.5 billion to “rapidly deploy firm baseload power.”
DOE’s Office of Science, however, would receive a $1.1 billion cut if enacted. Instead of focusing on clean energy and climate change-related research, OMB said the office would focus on high-performance computing AI, quantum information science, fusion, and critical mineral research.