The White House unveiled its Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal on Friday, which includes a 23 percent reduction in non-defense spending and a 13 percent increase in defense spending.
The proposed budget totals 1.7 trillion U.S. dollars, 7.6 percent lower compared with that of last year, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget.
According to the budget proposal, non-defense spending will be reduced by 163 billion U.S. dollars, reaching its lowest level since 2017.
The cuts target the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Education, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among others.
On the contrary, defense spending is set to rise by 13 percent, surpassing one trillion U.S. dollars for the first time.
Additionally, the budget for the Department of Homeland Security would increase by nearly 65 percent.
White House 2026 budget proposal cuts non-defense spending, increases defense funding
Protests against federal immigration enforcement are spreading across the United States, with the latest demonstration unfolding directly in front of the White House.
Early Saturday, more than a hundred demonstrators gathered there, demanding changes to the Trump administration's immigration policies and accountability for recent shootings involving federal agents.
Immigrant rights and civil rights groups said this weekend's rallies mark a coordinated national response. Demonstrations are planned or already underway in major cities including Philadelphia, as well as across states such as North Carolina, Florida, Texas, and Washington, D.C., where organizers are calling for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be removed from local communities.
The nationwide protests follow a deadly week in which three people were shot by federal agents in two days.
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, a 37-year-old woman, Renee Good, was killed during an enforcement operation by the ICE. A day later in Portland, Oregon, a man and a woman were wounded during a separate federal operation.
In the aftermath, Minnesota state officials accused the Trump administration of blocking their investigation by denying access to key evidence and prematurely drawing conclusions before a full review could be completed.
On Friday, Donald Trump defended the Department of Homeland Security's actions, sharply criticizing Minnesota leaders and calling them corrupt.
Local leaders have pushed back. During a Saturday news conference, the mayor of Minneapolis described ICE agents' actions as reckless.
Officials in both Minneapolis and Portland continue urging demonstrators to remain peaceful as protests intensify nationwide.
According to a 50501 Movement statement issued Friday, at least 32 people died in ICE custody in 2025.
Nationwide protests erupt in US after ICE shootings
