Privatization, eliminations and consolidations: Major reforms from Trump's budget

President Trump’s fiscal 2027 contains fewer cuts than most of his previous proposals, but still suggests significant overhauls to agency operations and structures. 

The blueprint would provide $2.2 trillion for the year while slashing non-defense agencies by 10%. It also includes dramatic workforce reductions, agency relocations, privatization pushes, dozens of program and grant eliminations and other major reforms. 

The White House previously included some of the ideas in prior proposals, only for Congress to install roadblocks or reject them entirely. Some of the changes are new and not all will require legislative action. 

Trump continued his war on “woke” federal projects and programs and research focused on climate change, leading to proposals to slash billions of dollars in spending. He is looking to slightly grow the size of the civilian workforce, though most agencies would still face cuts. 

Here are some of the most significant changes the president put forward: 

Privatization and staffing cuts at TSA

The Transportation Security Administration said it will look to privatize airport security at more airports across the country, an initiative it has piloted to date at a handful of mostly small locations. That would lead to job cuts of around 4,500 employees. It would eliminate another nearly 5,000 jobs by reallocating resources that it said will lead to more efficiency, as well as by tasking states and localities to staff exit lanes. The administration has for the last two months decried that a lack of funding for the Homeland Security Department has forced unpaid TSA screeners to call out at record rates, leading to exceptionally long lines at airports and damaged morale within the workforce. 

Reshuffling DHS

The Homeland Security Department also proposed a major reorganization, suggesting it merge its Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Office of the Secretary and Executive Management, Management Directorate and Office of Situational Awareness into a single office reporting to the DHS secretary. The department said the restructuring will “yield efficiencies and would enable better communication throughout the department and with external partners.”

Slashing grants

The Trump administration is looking to save billions of dollars by eliminating or significantly scaling back dozens of grant programs at the departments of Health and Human Services, State, Commerce, Labor, Housing and Urban Development and others. The cuts would impact programs focused on scientific and medical research, climate change, job training, housing, energy costs for low income Americans, refugees and migrants, disaster preparedness and many other areas across government. Many of the proposals were previously submitted to and rejected by Congress, such as the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program, the Food for Peace Program and the Community Services Block Grant, which Trump has now pitched eliminating six times. 

Office eliminations

Trump is hoping to close the Education Department entirely, but only proposed trimming its budget by 3%. The agency is in the midst of transferring much of its responsibilities to other agencies and proposed eliminating Adult Education within the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education, and moving the rest of the office transferring it to the Labor Department. 

At HHS, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the Fogarty International Center and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, all within the National Institutes of Health, would all be shuttered. DHS Is looking to close the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman and the Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman. In the Interior Department, the U.S. Geological Survey would eliminate its Ecosystems Mission Area. Interior previously considered issuing layoffs to the vast majority of staff there. 

The Justice Department is hoping to eliminate its Community Relations Service and the Office of Access to Justice, which the White House called “woke enterprises.” Labor would close Job Corps, a $1.6 billion program and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. The Commerce Department is again looking to close the Minority Business Development Agency.

Fraud crackdown

Several agencies asked for a surge in funds to prevent individuals from misusing their programs. The Agriculture Department is looking to boost efforts at identifying fraud, such as in food assistance programs, and requested $119 million for the efforts. HUD said it requires $30 million to fight fraud in housing programs and would use the money to boost financial reporting and oversight of recipients. The DOJ also requested $30 million for the National Fraud Division, an office it stood up earlier this year, to fund prosecutors who would aim to combat “the rampant and pervasive problem.” 

FEMA reforms

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it would eliminate 1,000 positions that it “expected to be vacant” by the end of the current fiscal year. The agency would focus on its “core mission” of emergency response and disaster recovery, while requesting states and localities take on more financial responsibility. It would slash non-disaster and training grants by $600 million and eliminate the Shelter and Services Program, which provides temporary housing to migrants awaiting DHS processing. 

USDA reorganization

The Agriculture Department noted it will follow through on its plans to shift much of its headquarters to regional hubs in North Carolina, Missouri, Indiana, Colorado and Utah, requesting $55 million for the cost of relocating staff and preparing buildings for sale. The changes will ensure USDA employees “are closer to the farmers and ranchers they serve” while avoiding maintenance costs. 

Further Cuts at HHS

After cutting nearly 20,000 employees last year, HHS is now looking to slash programs across the department as it consolidates various offices into the Administration for a Healthy America. Those would include some in the Health Resources and Services Administration, such as Healthy Start; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, such as Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention; and a slew of programs within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, such as Homelessness Prevention and Mental Health Children and Family Programs. HHS briefly sought to terminate thousands of SAMHSA grants earlier this year before quickly walking it back.