Science Policy This Week: January 5, 2026

What’s Ahead

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) and Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) presiding over an appropriations hearing. — Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME), right, with Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA).

AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta

Funding deal rejects Trump’s push for major science cuts

Congressional appropriators released a “minibus” of three bipartisan spending bills today that would pare back the budgets of some science agencies but largely reject Trump’s request for steep cuts. The minibus consists of the Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy and Water Development, and Interior-Environment bills, which cover a substantial portion of federal research funding for fiscal year 2026.

The package includes:

$24.4 billion for NASA, a 1.6% cut (including $7.25 billion for NASA Science, a 1.1% cut);
$8.75 billion for the National Science Foundation, a 3.4% cut;

$8.4 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, a 1.9% increase;
$6.17 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, roughly flat funding;

$1.42 billion for the U.S. Geological Survey, a 2.0% cut; and
$1.18 billion to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a 2.3% increase (NIST’s topline is technically $1.85 billion, but that amount includes roughly $660 million in earmarks that would fund external projects.)

Within DOE, the topline budget of some agencies is supplemented by unspent money originally allocated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. For example, DOE’s Office of Science would get $150 million repurposed from the infrastructure act in addition to its base budget of $8.25 billion. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy would get $1.15 billion repurposed from the infrastructure act to bring its total budget up to $3.1 billion – a 10% cut overall, but far from the 74% cut requested by Trump.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, praised the minibus in a statement, saying it “rejects President Trump’s push to let our competitors do laps around us by slashing federal funding for scientific research by upwards of 50% and killing thousands of good jobs in the process.” Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) identified science funding as a priority in a statement on the minibus, saying it is “a fiscally responsible package that restrains spending while providing essential federal investments that will improve water infrastructure in our country, enhance our nation’s energy and national security, and spur scientific research necessary to maintain U.S. competitiveness.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said on X that the House will vote on the package this week. The House previously proposed cuts that were less severe than the president’s, but in many cases still far larger than those in the minibus. Congress is laboring under a deadline to pass spending legislation or stop gaps before funding for many federal programs expires on Jan. 30.

NIH grant applications in re-review, HHS rulemaking policy under Senate scrutiny

In two case settlements announced in late December, the National Institutes of Health agreed to deliver “good faith” decisions on certain grant applications that it denied or did not decide on last year. In both cases, NIH did not concede any legal violations in refusing to consider or “unreasonably delaying” review of and decisions on grant applications. Inside Higher Ed reported that the Dec. 29 agreements have already led to at least 634 grant approvals out of 674 re-reviewed applications. The agreement in the case led by state attorneys general covers more than 5,000 grants, while the agreement in the case led by the American Public Health Association covers around 400 grants. The agreements require NIH to complete further rounds of review throughout the first half of 2026.

Also last month, senators led by Angus King (I-ME) sought to overturn a policy at the Department of Health and Human Services established early last year that allows the department to finalize rulemaking without a period of public comment. King’s resolution narrowly failed in a 50–50 vote. The White House issued a statement rejecting the resolution, saying the change in policy allows agencies to implement regulatory changes “flexibly and efficiently.”

H-1B to ditch lottery system

The Department of Homeland Security announced in late December that it will replace the lottery system used to award H-1B work visas with a system that prioritizes high-skilled workers, effective Feb. 27. In a press release, DHS said the change aims to incentivize employers to use the program primarily for “higher-paid, higher-skilled workers,” while the previous lottery system allowed employers to “flood” the selection pool with applications for low-skilled workers. The release added that the new policy is in line with other changes the administration has made to the H-1B program, including its imposition of a $100,000 per visa fee. On Dec. 23, a federal judge ruled in favor of the administration in a lawsuit challenging the fee. The plaintiffs in that case, which include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Association of American Universities, have appealed the ruling. Other lawsuits challenging the fee are ongoing.

Also on our radar

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday on nuclear energy, where Idaho National Lab Director John Wagner will appear as a witness. The House Science Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday on chemistry innovation and safety.
CERN announced in late December that philanthropists have pledged roughly $1 billion to support the construction of the Future Circular Collider. The announcement said the pledges represent the first time private donors have backed one of CERN’s flagship projects.
The Trump administration has reportedly invited the authors behind a controversial DOE report that questioned the validity of climate science and the severity of climate change to contribute to the next National Climate Assessment.
The EU announced in late December that Japan intends to join the bloc’s flagship research funding program, Horizon Europe. Japanese entities will be able to apply for funding starting this year.