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Fact check: Which federal agencies face the largest proposed cuts in the Republican 2025 budget and by what percentage?
Executive Summary
The largest proposed cuts vary by plan: the Trump administration’s 2026 budget request targets the Department of State (largest single Cabinet cut, ~83.7%) and the Environmental Protection Agency (about 54.5%), while both the administration and House Republican appropriations proposals put multi‑dozen percent reductions on major domestic programs including parts of HHS and law‑enforcement components (roughly mid‑20% range) [1] [2] [3]. These numbers come from separate, competing proposals — the President’s budget request and House GOP appropriations bills — and therefore reflect different political priorities and counting methods rather than a single enacted federal cut [3] [4].
1. Big Targets: Which Agencies See the Biggest Percentage Cuts?
The clearest headline figures come from the Trump administration’s budget request, which lists the Department of State facing an 83.7% reduction and the Environmental Protection Agency a 54.5% cut, making them the two largest percentage declines among Cabinet-level agencies in that proposal [1] [2]. Other large percentage cuts cited in the administration’s materials include Health and Human Services at roughly 26% and steep reductions in specific HHS components such as the National Institutes of Health programs (noted as near 39% in some breakdowns) [2] [1]. Separately, House Republican appropriations bills and summaries highlight roughly 20–26% reductions for a set of non-defense discretionary programs — for example, EPA cuts in the low‑20s and a 26% cut targeted at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — illustrating overlapping but not identical targets between Congress’s House GOP and the White House [2] [3].
2. Two Competing Blueprints: Administration Request vs. House GOP Bills
The administration’s budget request and the House Republican appropriations package are distinct documents with different baselines and priorities; the White House request prioritizes large, across‑the‑board domestic reductions while increasing defense and homeland security, whereas House appropriations detail committee‑level cuts to specific programs and agencies, often in the mid‑20% range for affected entities [4] [3]. The House bills highlighted deeper staffing and program cuts across many agencies and singled out roughly 25% reductions for several agencies and programs, including notable impacts on environmental and public‑health programs [3] [5]. Because each plan uses different accounting — shifts between discretionary vs. mandatory funding items, program rescissions, and one‑time vs. recurring cuts — direct percentage comparisons require caution; the same agency can show very different cut percentages depending on which proposal and which line items are compared [2].
3. Disputed Tallies: Where Percentages Diverge and Why It Matters
Specific percentage claims diverge where proposals either exclude certain funds or reclassify activities. The administration’s 83.7% State Department cut is an outlier and reflects removal of large foreign‑assistance accounts and programmatic spending lines, while House drafts that focus on domestic discretionary trims show smaller but still substantial drops for agencies like the EPA and CDC [1] [5]. The EPA is reported both as about a 54.5% cut in the White House plan and roughly a 20–23% cut in House committee summaries, demonstrating how methodology — which accounts are counted and whether emergency, overseas, or development funds are included — drives headline percentages [2] [3]. This matters because stakeholders and lawmakers often quote the largest percentage without noting the accounting choices that produced it, shaping public perception and lobbying priorities [2].
4. Jobs and Workforce Reductions: Big Cuts Beyond Dollar Totals
Beyond dollar line items, the White House request projects substantial federal workforce reductions, with media reporting a net reduction of roughly 100,000+ non‑defense federal employees and targeted staffing cuts at the Departments of Education, OPM, GSA, SBA, and NASA, while Transportation was noted as an exception for increases [6] [7]. These job figures are presented separately from agency budget‑percentage numbers and can have different timing and implementation paths; workforce cuts often require agency plans, buyouts, or layoffs and interact with program closures or consolidations that are described in both the administration and House materials [7] [6]. The combined effect of personnel reductions and budget trimming would be a structural shrinkage of some federal functions if enacted as proposed, but Congress — which controls appropriations and can reject or reshape workforce reductions — remains the gatekeeper [6] [3].
5. Political Stakes and Missing Pieces: What the Headlines Leave Out
These proposed cuts are policy blueprints rather than law; Congress must act to appropriate funds, and lawmakers routinely modify, restore, or reallocate proposed reductions during negotiations. The plans clearly reflect different political agendas: the White House emphasizes reallocating funds toward defense and homeland security while slashing foreign assistance and many domestic programs, whereas House Republicans frame cuts to domestic discretionary programs as broader deficit reduction or ideological realignment [4] [3]. Important omissions include explicit, comparable baselines across