Trump’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal would cut key Education Department access and student-support programs while boosting defense spending to $1.5 trillion. The plan targets long-running supports such as TRIO and Gear Up, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and Federal Work-Study—moves that would reduce direct aid and campus service capacity for students who rely on federal programs. The blueprint also proposes sharp reductions to civil rights oversight and education research infrastructure, including a major cut to the Office for Civil Rights and the Institute of Education Sciences. At the research end, the budget would slash or restructure federal science funding, including large decreases at the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Taken together, the proposals would shift federal priorities at the same time universities face rising compliance burdens and persistent enrollment uncertainty. Institutions should expect heightened risk around continuity of grant pipelines and administrative support tied to federal program rules while Congress negotiates the final package.