National Endowment for Democracy

(NED)

Department of State & International Programs

Proposed Cut

$315M

% Reduction

100.0%

Action Type

elimination

Who Is Served

Democracy and human rights programs in 90+ countries; 1,900+ grants annually

Summary

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a federally funded nonprofit, created in 1983 with bipartisan support, that gives grants to groups working on democracy, human rights, and civil society in more than 90 countries. The FY2027 budget proposes eliminating all $315 million in federal funding for NED, a 100% cut, ending the roughly 1,900 grants it makes each year because the administration says it has funded opposition-aligned political movements.

Who Is Affected

NED's core grantee institutes, including the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute, and the thousands of local civil society groups, journalists, election monitors, and labor and human rights organizers they fund in more than 90 countries would lose support. A related 2025 funding freeze already led the International Republican Institute to close all 64 of its overseas offices and lay off up to 85% of its staff, while the National Democratic Institute terminated 93 of its 97 active awards and cut about 1,000 jobs, according to congressional testimony.

What this cut would actually mean

Full elimination would permanently shut down the U.S. government's main channel for supporting independent media, election observation, anti-corruption watchdogs, and civil society groups in fragile and authoritarian countries, leaving many of those local partners without any comparable funding source. Based on what happened during the 2025 freeze, that likely means more grantee offices closing, more layoffs among local staff and activists, and canceled election-monitoring and rights-defense work in countries where NED has been one of the only sources of outside support. Analysts and NED's own leadership warn the loss of this funding also reduces a long-standing tool of U.S. soft power abroad.

Sources

Key things to know about the proposed foreign aid budget for FY2027 - WOLA — Confirms Congress appropriated $315 million to NED and its core institutes in 2026 and that the FY2027 budget again proposes eliminating this bipartisan-supported program.
Federal Budget | Council on Foundations — Summarizes the FY2027 President's Budget Request, including the $315 million cut to the National Endowment for Democracy.
Trump Budget Zeros Out NED, IAF Funding | Legis1 — Reports on the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the FY2027 budget's elimination of NED funding and describes NED's history and scope of operations in about 80 countries.
House Committee Examines Threats to Independent Agencies | Legis1 — Details testimony that NDI terminated 93 of 97 awards, closed most offices, and cut about 1,000 jobs amid funding disruptions preceding the FY2027 elimination proposal.
National Endowment for Democracy cuts are penny-wise, pound-foolish | The Hill — Describes the International Republican Institute halting 92 of 95 programs, closing 64 offices, and laying off up to 85% of staff after funding was cut off.