Federal Law Enforcement to See Hiring Boost in Proposed Budget
The Trump administration’s initial budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2027 boosts funding for federal law enforcement across the government by about 15 percent compared to current spending levels. This as the overall budget calls for a boost in defense spending to $1.5 trillion and a ten percent cut in non-defense programs.
As part of the law enforcement boost, the proposal includes funding to hire officers across multiple agencies, including the Department of Justice (DOJ). The administration is seeking a 13 percent increase in DOJ spending, requesting $41 billion in discretionary funds.
Planned new hires at DOJ agencies include:
3,200 hires at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
1,000 hires at U.S. Attorneys’ offices
Nearly 1,000 hires in the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS)
Nearly 1,000 hires at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
500 hires for immigration courts
145 hires at the Bureau of Prisons (BOP)
131 hires at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF)
The proposal also includes $899 million for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), intended to expand the immigration judge corps and increase courtroom capacity.
DHS Funding
Meanwhile, the administration wants $63 billion in spending for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),a slight decrease from current levels. However, DHS could see an extra $31 billion coming from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was appropriated by Congress in 2025. This as DHS remains shut down as an agreement could not be reached on FY 2026 levels.
Under the proposal U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would receive $18.5 billion while Immigration and Customs Enforcement would be funded at $10 billion, the same level as FY 2026.
The U.S. Coast Guard would receive a $2.1 billion increase.
The U.S. Secret Service would receive an additional $36 million for protective operations and funding to hire 852 new positions.
TSA Could Face 10,000 Job Cuts
However, the budget plans allocate less money to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
It proposes cutting about $1.5 billion in funding and 10,000 jobs at TSA in a move toward privatizing airport security operations.
Supporters say privatization is already happening at airports like San Francisco and is a natural step toward alleviating some of the issues with callouts that happened during the current DHS shutdown.
“It’s not like this is radical or this is out of left field,” said Steve Swedberg, a policy analyst with the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
But critics see it differently.
“TSA maintains overall responsibility for security. And they have that flexibility as new and emerging threats are identified, to adapt and modify procedures accordingly,” said a former government official who was granted anonymity to discuss TSA’s operations. “It goes back to why the agency was created ... 9/11, never forget.”
It’s important to note that the budget is just an initial proposal and must be passed by Congress.
