On May 2, 2025, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the Trump administration's proposed budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2026. Under the budget proposal, funding for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) would be cut by $564 million compared to FY2025 funding. The request states: “The Budget eliminates programs that provide grants to universities, duplicate other Federal research programs, and focus on social agendas (e.g., climate change) to instead focus on achieving dominance in energy and critical minerals.”
Science reports that, based on internal administration emails, the proposed budget cuts are expected “to wipe out the entire biological research program at the [USGS],” which “informs conservation of endangered species, state management of game and other wildlife, responses to wildfire and sea level rise, and other areas.”