On May 2, President Trump released a summary of his Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget request. The President is proposing base non-defense discretionary budget authority of $557.4 billion, which is $163 billion (22.6 percent) below current-year spending. This proposal begins the FY 2026 appropriations process to fund U.S. federal government programs.
The documents released today were the top-line numbers. The main development in the President’s budget from the fire service perspective is the creation of a unified Federal Wildland Firefighting Agency. The President’s budget would consolidate and unify Federal wildland fire responsibilities into a new Federal Wildland Fire Service at the Department of the Interior. This new service would streamline federal wildfire suppression response, risk mitigation efforts, and coordination with non-federal partners to combat the wildfire crisis. The budget also would transfer the U.S. Department of Agriculture's current wildland fire management resources and responsibilities. The budget would increase the total cost of federal wildland firefighting by 3.6% to $2.9 billion.
Here is how specific Cabinet agencies would be affected:
Department of Agriculture
Rural Development Program: The Rural Development program would be cut by $721 million, including the elimination of the Community Facility grants, which have been used for fire station construction.
National Forest System Management: The President’s FY 2026 budget proposal would cut the National Forest Management System by $392 million, including cutting salaries and expenses by $342 million and saving an additional $50 million by eliminating funding for the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration program, and reducing funding for recreation, vegetation and watershed management, and land management regulation. States would be empowered to “assume a greater role in managing forest lands within their borders. The requested funding level supports the highest priorities in forest management, including timber sales, hazardous fuels removal, mineral extraction, grazing, and wildlife habitat management.”
State, Local, Tribal, and NGO Conservation Programs: The President’s proposed FY 2026 would save $303 million by reducing grant programs that subsidize management of state and privately-owned forests. We will have to see if the State Fire Assistance and Volunteer Fire Assistance programs are affected by these cuts.
Department of Homeland Security
FEMA Grants: The budget would cut the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) grant programs by $646 million. This cut would eliminate Targeting Violence and Terrorism Prevention and unauthorized programs like the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium. It is not clear how the Assistance to Firefighters Grant; Fire Prevention and Safety; and the SAFER grant programs and the Urban Areas Security Initiative and the State Homeland Security Grant Program would be affected.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA): The CISA would be cut by $491 million. CISA would be refocused “on its core mission—Federal network defense and enhancing the security and resilience of critical infrastructure.”
Department of Transportation
Rail Safety Grants: The President’s FY 2026 budget would provide $500 million for Rail Safety and Infrastructure grants, a 400-percent increase over 2025 levels, to improve the safety of America’s railways and to protect their neighboring communities.
Department of Health and Human Services
Make America Healthy Again (MAHA): The President’s FY 2026 budget would propose $500 million for the MAHA initiative, which would allow the Secretary Kennedy “to tackle nutrition, physical activity, healthy lifestyles, over-reliance on medication and treatments, the effects of new technological habits, environmental impacts, and food and drug quality and safety across HHS.”
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): The President’s proposed FY 2026 budget would cut SAMSHA by $1.065 billion, including elimination of the funding for the Mental Health Programs of Regional and National Significance, Substance Use Prevention Programs of Regional and National Significance, and the Substance Use Treatment Programs of Regional and National Significance. We will have to see if the SIREN grants are affected, when the more detailed budget proposal is released.
Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR): President Trump’s proposed FY 2026 budget would cut ASPR by $240 million by eliminating the Hospital Preparedness Program.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Program Management: President Trump’s budget proposes a $674 million cut to non-statutory and support programs at CMS.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): President Trump’s FY 2026 budget would cut the CDC by $3.588 billion. It would consolidate funding for Infectious Disease and Opioids, Viral Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Infections, and Tuberculosis programs into one grant program funded at $300 million. The President’s budget request also would eliminate programs, including: the National Center for Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion; National Center for Environmental Health; National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; the Global Health Center; Public Health Preparedness and Response; and the Preventive Health and Human Services Block Grant. The President’s budget proposed dumping the last two programs on the states. The budget would refocus the CDC “on emerging and infectious disease surveillance, outbreak investigations, preparedness and response, and maintaining the nation’s public health infrastructure.” Programs, such as the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer and the World Trade Center Health Program may be consolidated into the AHA Initiative, but we will have to see what the more detailed budget proposal says.
This budget proposal released today was just a summary of the major changes in the President’s FY 2026 budget. It is not detailed enough to see what is being proposed for the U.S. Fire Administration; AFG and SAFER grants and other FEMA preparedness grants; the National Urban Search and Rescue System; or the Volunteer Fire Assistance program. This proposal is just the start of the FY 2026 budget process and Congress will have to decide the final funding levels of federal programs. The IAFC will focus on protecting important fire and EMS programs as Congress begins drafting the FY 2026 appropriations bills.