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Fact check: Which federal programs would be affected or defunded by the Republican CR proposals in 2025?
Executive Summary
The Republican continuing resolution (CR) proposals and related FY26 budget moves would cut or restrict funding across a broad swath of federal programs — most prominently SNAP, education grants, nondefense discretionary accounts, and many health, housing, and environmental programs — while increasing defense spending and giving the administration broader discretion to rescind enacted funds. Estimates tied to these measures project substantial reductions in program participation and federal outlays over the coming decade, and the measures have precipitated immediate disruptions associated with a partial government shutdown. [1] [2] [3] [4]
1. The core claim pulled apart: Which programs are explicitly on the chopping block?
Analyses of the Republican CR and associated appropriations language show targeted cuts to SNAP, federal education programs like Title I (Education for the Disadvantaged) and Pell Grants, and broad reductions in nondefense discretionary accounts. House Republican bills and the Trump-Johnson full-year CR would reduce funding for programs that support low-income communities, education, and healthcare, and would freeze or cut student aid with a $4.7 billion, roughly 25 percent reduction to Title I and a second-year freeze of the maximum Pell Grant [3] [5]. The White House FY26 proposal aligns politically by pushing steep cuts across many civilian agencies while prioritizing defense increases, signaling a coordinated set of proposals that would materially shrink a wide set of social programs [6] [4].
2. SNAP stands out: Expiration, work requirements, and projected beneficiary losses
SNAP is uniquely exposed both because of immediate funding expirations during the shutdown and because enacted Republican tax-and-spending language would impose stricter work requirements and reduced administrative funding, changes projected to lower enrollment by about 2.4 million people per month on average and to save roughly $187 billion over the next decade, according to estimates tied to the GOP proposal [2]. The lapse in appropriations during the 2025 shutdown also caused benefits to be at risk in real time, prompting partisan claims that one side was “weaponizing hunger” while the other argued reopening the government was the path to restoring aid [1] [7]. These two dynamics — structural program changes and stopgap funding gaps — mean SNAP faces both immediate and long-term cuts.
3. Education, veterans, rural and small-business supports would lose ground under GOP appropriations
House and GOP full-year CR text identify deep reductions in programs aimed at educational equity, veterans services, rural development, small business supports, and disaster relief, with specific line-item pressure on programs that serve low-income students and postsecondary aid [3] [5]. The proposed $4.7 billion cut to Title I and freezes on Pell create a compounding effect: local school districts and low-income college students face near-term resource strain, while rural development and small-business programs would see constricted grant and loan capacity. The Trump-Johnson CR language further hands discretion to executives to reallocate or rescind funds, increasing the risk of program eliminations outside regular appropriations flows [8] [9].
4. Immediate operational impacts from a shutdown: Military pay, air traffic, and healthcare subsidies
The 2025 shutdown produced sharp operational consequences: federal employees and contractors faced furloughs or unpaid work, military pay and readiness questions arose, air traffic control and aviation operations ran on constrained staffing, and some healthcare subsidies or enrollment services were interrupted. Senate floor fights over stopgap SNAP funding crystallized the operational risk: blocked emergency measures created real-time lapses in benefits while leaders debated legislative fixes, showing how appropriation delays translate into service disruptions [1] [7]. These outcomes demonstrate that budget standoffs can cause both programmatic defunding and immediate service interruptions.
5. The White House and GOP budgets together sketch a coherent policy direction: big defense, steep civilian cuts, and rescissions authority
The FY26 White House budget proposals amplify the GOP CR’s themes by proposing double-digit percentage cuts to many civilian departments and a large increase in homeland and defense spending, and by seeking legal rescissions of previously enacted appropriations to strip funds for entities like global health organizations and certain equity-focused programs [6] [9] [4]. That combination — appropriations cuts on Capitol Hill plus executive rescissions authority — creates layered mechanisms for program contraction beyond a single CR, meaning programs could be reduced by both congressional line-item cuts and executive cancellations.
6. Political framing and stakes: Who’s arguing what, and why it matters for beneficiaries
Political messaging around these proposals is sharply polarized: Republicans frame cuts and stricter rules as fiscal discipline and incentivizing work, while Democrats and affected-service advocates argue the measures would cut critical supports and exacerbate hardship during economic strain, accusing Republicans of using benefits as leverage in budget fights [2] [7]. The structural provisions that grant broad administrative discretion to reallocate or rescind funds also reflect an agenda to reshape federal priorities quickly; this procedural pathway is important because it can deliver lasting programmatic changes without the typical bipartisan appropriations compromises [8] [9]. The combined legislative and administrative toolbox in play increases the chance that multiple programs will see both immediate interruptions and sustained funding reductions.