Published June 4, 2025

Late on Friday, May 30, the White House released a more detailed version of its fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget, expanding on the earlier “skinny budget.” The proposal maintains the administration’s stated goal of significantly reducing funding for key domestic programs, including those that support housing, education, nutrition, and health. 

Under this plan, the Department of Defense would receive a 13 percent increase, while nearly every other federal agency would face steep reductions. These proposed cuts reflect the administration’s broader policy direction since the beginning of the term, during which a series of executive orders targeted systems that provide access to affordable housing, public education, nutrition assistance, and other essential services. 

The budget arrives as economic uncertainty looms, with recession concerns and rising tariffs contributing to higher food prices. These pressures have made it more difficult for many Americans to afford basic needs, including groceries and rent. 

Although Congress ultimately determines federal spending, the Trump administration’s budget signals a clear shift in priorities. It outlines significant funding reductions for institutions of higher education, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, health care systems, and programs serving low- and moderate-income Americans. If enacted, these cuts could deepen poverty, increase food insecurity, and dismantle critical supports that help individuals and families achieve economic stability. 

Below are a few of the proposed cuts:  

Nutrition Assistance, Beginning on Page 157 

  • The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) would see a $300 million cut, dropping from $7.597 billion in FY 2025 to a proposed $7.306 billion in FY 2026. 
    • The budget reduces the WIC Cash Value Benefit (CVB) to pre-pandemic levels set by the 2014 WIC Food Package, with adjustments for inflation. 
    • This change slashes the monthly CVB for fruits and vegetables from $26 for children to $10, and from $47–$52 to $13 for adults. 
  • Child Nutrition Programs would face a $16 million reduction in mandatory spending, falling from $34 million in FY 2025 to $18 million in FY 2026. The proposal includes: 
    • Eliminating school meals equipment grants, cutting $10 million. 
    • Eliminating the Farm to School Program, cutting $5 million. 
    • Eliminating funding for Child Nutrition Training and the Institute of Child Nutrition, cutting $1 million. 
    • These cuts would reduce essential resources and support for implementing and improving child nutrition programs nationwide. 
  • The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) would be eliminated under the proposed budget. CSFP provides critical nutrition assistance to  older adults with low incomes.  
    • The administration proposes replacing CSFP with the “Make America Great Again (MAHA) Food Boxes” program — a repackaged version of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, which was widely criticized for mismanagement and inefficiency during its 2020 rollout. 
      • According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, many rural communities were excluded from the original program. A congressional investigation by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis revealed that multimillion-dollar contracts were awarded to unqualified vendors with little oversight. One contractor continued receiving payments despite evidence of falsified records and self-dealing. 
      • The investigation also found that the administration failed to set profit limits, require documentation to prevent price gouging, or monitor vendor performance. Nonprofits were often left to distribute oversized, improperly packaged, or spoiled food, leading to waste and added burdens on local organizations. 
      • Reviving this flawed model under the MAHA Food Boxes initiative raises serious concerns about effectiveness, equity, and accountability. 
      • Eliminating CSFP would increase hunger among older people and place additional strain on local communities trying to fill the gap. 

These cuts would lead to increased hunger and strain local communities as they attempt to fill the gap left by the administration.  

Energy Assistance, Page 374 

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps over 6 million households with very low incomes pay for heating and cooling costs, faces elimination under the proposed budget. This move would result in higher utility bills for vulnerable families, increasing the risk of energy insecurity.  

Housing, Page 461 

The budget proposes significant cuts to housing assistance programs, including: 

  • Reducing Tenant-Based Rental Assistance, Public Housing, Project-Based Rental Assistance, Housing for the Elderly, and Housing for Persons with Disabilities:  $26.718 billion — a 43 percent cut — would be consolidated into block grants to states, with a two-year cap on assistance for able-bodied adults. 
  • Eliminating Community Development Block Grant: a program that provides grants to over 1,200 state and local governments for a wide range of community and economic development activities.   
  • Eliminating HOME Investment Partnerships Program: a grant that provides state and local governments funding to expand the supply of housing.   
  • Eliminating Self-Sufficiency Programs: This includes the termination of the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS), Jobs Plus, and Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) programs, which help families increase earned income, build assets, and improve financial well-being.  

These changes would lead to increased homelessness and housing instability for millions of Americans.  

Education, Page 241 and School Improvement, Page 248 

The proposed education budget cuts include: 

  • Eliminating the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG): This program provides financial aid to undergraduate students with exceptional need and does not need to be repaid. 
  • Eliminating Federal TRIO Programs (TRIO) and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate (GEAR UP) Programs: These programs support first-generation and students with low incomes in preparing for and succeeding in college.  
  • Reducing Federal Work-Study Funding: a significant cut that would limit opportunities for students to work while attending school.  
  • Eliminating funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers Initiative: This would cut the only federal funding source dedicated exclusively to supporting local afterschool, before-school, and summer learning programs. Many of these programs serve meals through the Summer and Afterschool Nutrition Programs. Learn more here.

These reductions will hinder social mobility and perpetuate cycles of poverty.  

Health, Page 325 

The budget proposes a $33.3 billion cut to the Department of Health and Human Services, including: 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): a 44 percent reduction in funding, eliminating chronic disease programs and domestic HIV work.  
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): an $18 billion cut, impacting medical research and public health initiatives.  
  • Elimination of Health Equity Programs: discontinuing initiatives aimed at addressing health disparities among marginalized communities.  

These cuts would lead to worsened health outcomes and increased disparities among low-income populations. 

Workforce Development, Page 637 

The budget proposes: 

  • Eliminating the Community Service Employment for Older Americans (CSEOA): a program that provides job training for older adults with low incomes.  
  • Cutting AmeriCorps and Job Corps: reducing funding for programs that offer work experience and community service opportunities.  

These reductions could limit job opportunities and undermine efforts to reduce poverty, even as the administration pushes to expand basic-needs programs time limits and eliminate waivers. 

A Call for Congressional Action 

If enacted, these cuts would have devastating and lasting consequences. They would deepen poverty, worsen food insecurity and housing instability, and severely limit access to health care, education, and economic opportunity. Nonprofits and local governments cannot absorb the fallout; these institutions were never meant to replace federal  programs. This budget will not make America great or healthy — it will make it poorer.  

Congress must reject these proposals and invest in proven programs that help Americans thrive.