The White House is denying reports that it may seek a 20% reduction in National Institutes of Health funding in its fiscal 2027 budget proposal.
Roll Call first reported the planned funding cut March 27, citing several sources in the medical research industry. However, a spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget denied the claim to Becker’s March 30.
President Donald Trump is expected to share his budget request, which acts as a guide for lawmakers drafting appropriations bills, with Congress on April 3, according to Politico. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
A 20% cut would be less than the administration’s fiscal 2026 proposal, in which the White House sought $27.9 billion for the NIH — about 40% less than fiscal 2025 levels. However, Congress rejected that request, and President Trump ultimately signed an appropriations package into law Feb. 3 with $48.7 billion in funding for the NIH.
For comparison, the NIH received $48.5 billion in fiscal 2025, about 0.7% less than fiscal 2024, according to data from the Congressional Research Service. Adjusted for biomedical inflation, the agency’s purchasing power was already an estimated 8.8% below its fiscal 2003 peak by fiscal 2025.
Last year, President Trump also proposed consolidating a significant number of the NIH’s 27 institutions and centers, which lawmakers also rejected. Sources told Roll Call the administration would again propose such consolidations, though it is unclear whether they will mirror last year’s proposal.
The president’s budget request follows a tumultuous year at the NIH. Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, has been simultaneously serving as acting CDC director since February. More than half of the agency’s 27 institutes and centers were also without permanent directors as of mid-February amid a wave of terminations, resignations and retirements, NBC News reported.
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