Government
White House Priorities on Full Display in FY2027 Budget Request
Susan Collins of Maine (R), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, says lawmakers in Congress, not the president, will ultimately decide how federal dollars are allocated through the appropriations process.
The White House budget request for fiscal year 2027, released April 3, follows the spirit of the fiscal 2026 budget, with draconian cuts to renewable energy and water programs, along with massive hikes in defense spending and funding for the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security. It calls for an overall reduction of more than $73 billion over 2026 enacted levels. While limited in specifics, providing primarily top-line numbers, the budget does highlight the administration’s broader priorities.
Proposed budget include a 52% decrease in funds for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, $4.6 billion below 2026-enacted levels—cutting $2.5 billion from the agency's clean and drinking water state revolving loan programs alone.
The U.S. Energy Dept. proposed budget would gain a $4.8 billion boost over fiscal 2026 enacted levels, but most of that would go toward further developing the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. A portion of the funding would also enable the National Nuclear Security Administration to support development of next-generation technologies for future nuclear naval systems.
The budget would also repurpose funds established in the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act intended for clean energy, cutting a total of $15.2 billion for renewables, direct-air carbon dioxide capture and other funding the Trump administration describes as “unreliable.” That includes moving more than $3 billion dollars Congress previously allocated for hydrogen hubs to programs to boost coal and natural gas energy. The Energy Dept. Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation would receive $1.1 billion.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. would also face cuts—including a $486 million reduction in transit capital investment grants, a 29% loss over enacted levels; and a reduction of $327 million for Amtrak, or 13%.
While the budget request expresses administration’s priorities, it is still a request that is far from guaranteed. Congress typically modifies, often extensively, numbers outlined in a White House budget plan. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement, “While the administration proposes a budget, Congress holds the power of the purse.”
Brad Townsend, vice president of policy and outreach for the non-partisan Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, describes the budget as primarily a “messaging document” to highlight White House’s priorities.
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The group is following what will happen with projects that had been planned through the Industrial Demonstrations Program in the Energy Dept.'s former Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, which the administration dissolved in 2025—with more than $3 billion in project funding rescinded. Some of its projects and responsibilities were siphoned off to other programs in the department.
But Townsend said the demonstrations program was particularly hard-hit. It has focused on demonstrating the viability of projects and technologies to reduce emissions in some industries that are hardest to decarbonize, such as steel and cement production.
Those cuts are being noticed by potential corporate investors, many who will be less willing to take risks in the future, Townsend said. “At a time when we should be making those investments, we are … closing the tent … instead, and that is going to have profound long-term impacts on our economy,” he stressed.
Other advocacy groups agreed. “Instead of propping up expensive, polluting fossil fuels, we should be investing in affordable clean energy, the fastest and cheapest way to tackle skyrocketing energy bills and meet rising energy demand,” said David Shadburn, legislative director of the League of Conservation Voters, in a statement:
