The 2027 discretionary budget request includes a $73 billion reduction in domestic spending, with a 10 percent cut across federal agencies supporting education, research, health, social services, and housing.
While Pell grant funding would increase by $10.5 billion to $33 billion, with the maximum award set at $7,395 for 2027-28, no funding is proposed for federal TRIO programs such as GEAR UP and Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need.
Higher education would see a $2.7 billion cut, and minority-serving institutions could lose $354 million. The Institute of Education Sciences faces a potential reduction of over $500 million.
The National Institutes of Health could be cut by $5 billion, eliminating institutes and centers, including the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
The National Science Foundation’s budget could drop from $8.8 billion to $4 billion, ending all funding for the social, behavioral, and economic sciences division.
A director emeritus of the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute at NASA Ames Research Center noted on LinkedIn that, shortly after a rocket launch at Kennedy Space Center, a government proposal called for a 23 percent cut to NASA’s budget, or $5.6 billion, including a 47 percent reduction to the Science Mission Directorate.
According to the retired director, the budget would cancel more than 40 programs focused on Earth science and STEM education, which are essential for developing future explorers.
He wrote that you cannot claim to be building a “Golden Age of American Space Exploration” while eliminating the observatories, researchers, and classrooms that give exploration meaning. Congress rejected nearly identical cuts last year with strong bipartisan support.