Me to the U.S. Government:
This presidential administration has promised energy dominance, AI leadership, and a secure nation. What do all these things have in common? They cost money! And a functioning government apparatus to deliver. The first fiscal year of the Trump administration still hobbles on as the Department of Homeland Security flails about without funding and specially-funded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) get drafted in to run airport security. We’ve discussed the political potency of airport delays on shutdown scenarios before, and they’ll be playing their major part yet again as they reach the biggest delays in history.
It’s a busy time and you have things to do. Here are three things worth tracking in science policy as Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) wraps and we head into FY27.
DHS shutdown deal – too little too late?
Politico: “‘It looks like everybody is going to stare at each other for a little while,’ Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday, before nodding at lawmakers’ best hope for getting a deal — their overwhelming desire to leave town.”
A Republican deal, blessed by the White House, to fund DHS, limit ICE enforcement, and include some parts of Trump’s desired voting law changes has hit major roadblocks that leave little optimism for a DHS shutdown conclusion by week’s end. If the Senate cannot pass something by Friday, the House will go home for the recess and the DHS shutdown will linger on at least another week.
Congress is racing against the spring travel surge and the inevitable viral images of massive Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lines operated by ICE agents. Visuals like these speak thousands of words a floor speech cannot.
Complicating matters is the growing possibility of another GOP-led reconciliation bill, also being mulled by President Trump, as an alternative path for delivering on various items like the Iran war, DHS funding, and Trump’s voting rules changes, but it’s unclear that would pass Senate rules scrutiny.
The White House published “A National Policy Framework for AI”
White House: “The Administration recognizes that some Americans feel uncertain about how this transformative technology will affect issues they care about, like their children’s wellbeing or their monthly electricity bill. These issues, along with other emerging AI policy considerations, require strong Federal leadership to ensure the public’s trust in how AI is developed and used in their daily lives.”
This framework addresses six key objectives regarding families, communities, intellectual property, censorship, innovation, and workforce. It’s the latest push against the “patchwork” of AI regulation as the Administration continues to demand a moratorium on state AI laws and acquiescence to a national set of rules. FAS has concerns about such an approach.
This all comes against the backdrop of a great deal of legislative activity concerning data centers and as specific topics come into more of a focus, like a serious bipartisan look at AI use in courts, scrutiny of data privacy and supply chain security.
Science Funding – let it flow
FAS: “The Federation of American Scientists urges the U.S. government to release holds on Congressionally-appropriated funding for scientific research, education, and critical activities at the earliest possible time.”
The Presidential Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2027 should arrive in the coming days, and with it a barrage of budget hearings, oversight, and negotiation over topline priorities. We’re still checking the receipts from FY26, and lots of discrepancies remain to be sorted out about how (and if) that money was properly spent as legally prescribed by Congress.
The first big flashpoint of the FY27 Presidential Budget arrives with OMB Director Russ Vought testifying on Capitol Hill on April 15th. Military funding, homeland security, and economic affordability will demand attention, but we cannot lose sight of how the slow-rolling of scientific funding is harming economic competitiveness, national security, and global scientific leadership. Core government functions, like grantmaking for research, are being directly and indirectly disrupted. It’s hard to see this Administration delivering on the promises of its agenda without the scientific progress to power us through unprecedented challenges presented by AI, energy, and an evolving national security landscape. My smarter colleagues put it more eloquently here.
Ta-Ta for now!
There is so much more to discuss, but we’ve only so much word count. Keep up the convo here GRuiz@FAS.org and let us know what you think.
We’ll be closely tracking science funding budget hearings and FY26 spending accountability, the growing urgency around AI and emerging tech legislation, and the actions of the Trump administration as they helm the world’s greatest scientific enterprise of all time in the form of the U.S. government.
January saw us watching whether the government would fund science. February has been about how that funding will be distributed, regulated, and contested.
January brought a jolt of game-changing national political events and government funding brinksmanship. If Washington, D.C.’s new year resolution was for less drama in 2026, it’s failed already.
We came out of the longest shutdown in history and we are all worse for it. Who won the shutdown fight? It doesn’t matter – Americans lost. And there is a chance we run it all back again in a few short months.
Getting into a shutdown is the easy part, getting out is much harder. Both sides will be looking to pin responsibility on each other, and the court of public opinion will have a major role to play as to who has the most leverage for getting us out.