The Big Story 

President Trump’s budget request proposed eliminating or zeroing out funding for dozens of federal programs.

© The Associated Press

The Trump administration cited multiple reasons the programs made the chopping block, arguing some were duplicative, underperforming or are out of line with the administration’s priorities.

Among those named included the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, the Sexual Risk Avoidance Program, Job Corps, the Community Development Block Grant program, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the 400 Years of African American History Commission, and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program, which the administration said “is similar to the mandatory Personal Responsibility Education program.”

The U.S. Agency for Global Media, the U.S. Institute for Peace and the National Endowment for Democracy were also on the list, as development agencies find themselves in the administration’s crosshairs.

A breakdown in the Friday request outlines the proposed cuts by agency, with the administration calling for cuts of about 44 percent for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 31 percent for the Interior Department, 8 percent for the Justice Department, 35 percent for the Department of Labor, 84 percent for the Department of State and international programs and 19 percent for the Treasury Department.

At the same time, increases are proposed for several agencies, including a roughly 13 percent boost for the Department of Defense, a nearly 65 percent boost for the Homeland Security Department, a roughly 6 percent jump for the Transportation Department and an increase of about 4 percent for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Hill’s Aris Folley has more here.

Welcome to The Hill’s Business & Economy newsletter, I’m Aris Folley — covering the intersection of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Essential Reads 

Key business and economic news with implications this week and beyond:

About half of Americans say the economy is Trump’s responsibility: Survey

GOP defense hawks in Congress slam Trump budget as inadequate

Collins has ‘serious objections’ to parts of Trump 2026 budget 

Tax Watch 

Welcome to Tax Watch, a new feature in The Hill’s Business & Economy newsletter focused on the fight over tax reform and the push to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts this year.

Republicans ‘accept reality’ on timing for tax cut and spending package

Republicans’ ambitious timeline for their sweeping tax cut and spending package is facing obstacles as members disagree over issues like cuts to Medicaid and the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said this week that his original goal of getting the entire package done by Memorial Day was probably not going to happen, but that it is still the deadline for its passage through the House.

“My original aspiration was by Memorial Day for the whole thing. But I’ve accepted reality. We’ll get it out of the House by then, and then we’ll send it to the Senate,” he said.

“I hope the Senate doesn’t do a whole-cloth rewrite,” he added.

The tax-writing Ways and Means Committee has not scheduled a date for the markup of its portion of the bill, a committee aide told The Hill Friday.

“It wasn’t scheduled in the first place,” the person said.

“Ways and Means members are working towards getting this bill done,” the aide said on social media.

— Tobias Burns

The Ticker 

Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:

In Other News 

Branch out with more stories from the day:

The White House seeks sharp spending cuts in Trump’s 2026 budget plan

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House released President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget proposal Friday, …

Good to Know 

Business and economic news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

What Others are Reading 

Top stories on The Hill right now:

Greene furious over Ukraine minerals deal, Iran talks: ‘The base is not happy’

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) unloaded a heap of criticism Friday on recent actions and inactions by the Trump administration and fellow Republicans, bringing up the Ukraine minerals deal, talks with Iran, and more — while being sure to not criticize President Trump personally. Read more

Trump proposes steep cuts in first budget request of second term

President Trump unveiled the White House budget request for fiscal 2026 on Friday, a set of proposals that would make steep cuts to nondefense programs while boosting defense and border funding. Read more

What People Think 

Opinions related to business and economic issues submitted to The Hill: