In a new insight, Director of Fiscal Policy Jordan Haring walks through the highlights of President Trump’s fiscal year (FY) 2026 “skinny budget,” which details its proposals for defense and nondefense discretionary spending for FY 2026.

Key Points:

• The budget does not include any proposed changes to mandatory spending or revenue, nor does it include proposals and cost estimates in any fiscal years beyond 2026.

• The budget proposes $1.45 trillion of base discretionary budget authority (BA) for FY 2026, including $892.6 billion of base defense BA and $557.4 billion of base nondefense BA.

• After including the effects of the reconciliation legislation being negotiated in Congress, the budget proposes $1.61 trillion of base discretionary BA, including $1.01 trillion of base defense BA and $601.2 billion of base nondefense BA.

• The proposed spending increases are concentrated in the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs; most other departments and agencies would see their funding decreased relative to their FY 2025 enacted levels.

Read the analysis.