White House Boosts Defense, Slashes Civilian Research Funding

The White House proposed a $1.5 trillion defense budget for FY2027, the largest year-over-year increase likely since World War II, including $1.2 billion for AI supercomputers and $65.8 billion for warships. The Department of Energy receives a 10% boost, with AI, nuclear security, and fusion energy as priorities. Civilian and biomedical research face deep cuts: NIH loses $5 billion, NSF is slashed 55%, and NASA Science takes a 40% hit. Three NIH institutes are eliminated entirely, and a government-wide ban on journal subscription payments is proposed. Congress rejected similar cuts last year.