The Trump Administration’s fiscal plan for 2026, also known as the president’s “skinny budget,” proposes severe cuts to many programs that Americans rely on. The following cuts may have a significant impact for NCRC members:
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Under the skinny budget, HUD will see a 46% cut in funding, including the elimination of several programs:
- The biggest cut, $26 billion, comes from eliminating federal funding for rental assistance programs to states.
- Another $3 billion cut to Community Development Block Grants to states, which effectively eliminates the program.
- A $1.2 billion cut eliminating the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which provides grant funding for state and local governments to increase access to affordable housing.
- A $60 million cut eliminating the Fair Housing Initiatives Program and the National Fair Housing Training Academy.
- Native American and Native Hawaiian housing programs are also eliminated in the skinny budget, which equals out to a $480 million cut.
Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution Fund
The skinny budget is proposing to cut almost all of the funding for discretionary CDFI awards, while adding a new program for rural areas, that aims specifically to:
- Eliminate $291 million from CDFI Fund’s discretionary awards, which is a 90% cut from 2025’s $324 million. The remaining 10%, or $33 million, will go towards New Market Tax Credits and a bond program.
- Add a new program at the $100 million level for rural development. This new program would require 60% of CDFI loans and investments to go to rural areas.
Small Business Administration
The following cuts and consolidations have been proposed by the White House in the skinny budget for the Small Business Administration (SBA):
- Consolidates Entrepreneurial Development Program (SBDC): requested $149 million, which is a cut of $167 million from the $316 million appropriated last year.
- Proposing the elimination of 15 programs, including the Minority Business Development Agency, the SCORE program and the Women’s Business Centers.
The skinny budget is the opening salvo in the appropriations process. However, it comes at a particularly chaotic time, as Congress is in the middle of the Reconciliation process, which focuses on legislation related to taxing structures, spending and debt limit changes. The Republican majority in both the House and Senate are prioritizing extending President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which gives major tax cuts to a small portion of the wealthiest Americans.
The reception of the Trump Administration’s skinny budget has been mixed, with pushback coming from both sides of the aisle. “Look, we’re supportive of this administration, what it’s trying to do,” said House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.). However, he appeared skeptical when he said “But with all due respect to anybody, I think the members have a better understanding of what can pass and what can’t than the Executive Branch does.”
“This is not a budget,” stated House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) regarding the recently released White House Fiscal 2026 Spending Plan.“It is an all-out assault on our nation’s families, small businesses and communities in every part of the country.”
Agency heads will testify in the coming weeks at various committee hearings, and a more detailed budget is expected by the end of May. However, due to the GOP’s overall slim majority in the House, the opposition from Republicans looking for more cuts, Democrats deeply opposing the deep cuts and the overall focus being on the reconciliation package, it is likely that no agreement on the budget will be reached for some time. While it is too soon to know for certain, a Continuing Resolution and a government shutdown are both possible in September.
Lauren Wolters is a Government Affairs Associate with NCRC’s Policy team.
Photo credit: Tomoki Iwata via Upsplash.
