The White House is out with its 2027 budget proposal. Congress has the power of the purse so the final budget will likely look very different. However, it does offer insight into President Trump’s priorities. For USDA, the proposal calls for nearly $21 billion in discretionary authority for 2027, a 19 percent cut from what was enacted this year. This blueprint calls USDA “a bloated Washington, D.C. bureaucracy” with programs that fail to support an ‘America First’ agenda. The budget request includes an additional $50 million to implement USDA’s reorganization and move USDA employees to regional hubs. Cuts would include the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program, which is described as “wasteful and inefficient.” The Agricultural Marketing Service would take a $61 million hit by eliminating specific budget carve-outs. The proposal said the food and agriculture industry should use checkoff funds for these types of programs.
