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The Trump administration made changes to federal programs, offices, and initiatives between January and September 2025. The changes affected multiple policy areas including health care, environment, education, civil rights, immigration, and scientific research.
The dismantling started on Inauguration Day with executive orders targeting diversity programs and climate initiatives. It accelerated through workforce reductions, grant terminations, budget proposals, and agency reorganizations.
This tracker (surely incomplete) documents specific programs shut down through the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2025, drawing from official government announcements, budget documents, and news reports.
Health Care Programs
CDC and Disease Prevention
The Department of Health and Human Services reduced its workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 employees while dissolving major agencies and reducing research budgets. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s budget dropped 54%, from $9.2 billion to a proposed $4.2 billion. The agency eliminated 2,400 employees and closed core disease prevention programs.
The CDC’s Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion was completely eliminated in April 2025. This erased $1.4 billion in funding for programs addressing cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and arthritis prevention across all states.
The Global Health Center lost 67% of its budget, cutting capacity to prevent foreign disease outbreaks from reaching the U.S. The CDC’s flu vaccination campaign targeting pregnant women and high-risk groups was terminated mid-flu-season on February 19, 2025.
In summer 2025, the administration fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replaced them with new appointees. CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired in late August when she refused to resign.
NIH Research Funding
The National Institutes of Health faces a 40% budget reduction, from $48 billion to approximately $27 billion, with plans to consolidate 27 institutes into eight. Four NIH institute directors were removed on April 1, 2025 – their first day under new director Jay Bhattacharya – including leaders overseeing $9 billion in research funding.
The National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Fogarty International Center, and National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health face complete elimination.
The administration terminated hundreds of research grants at universities nationwide. Virginia Tech alone lost 55 projects worth $46.5 million affecting 45 principal investigators. SUNY lost $4.5 million including a $3.5 million Buffalo health equity training center.
Mental Health and Addiction Services
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration was dissolved entirely on March 27, 2025. Its $8.1 billion budget and 900 employees were absorbed into a new Administration for a Healthy America.
The agency’s entire National Survey on Drug Use and Health team was fired April 1, ending data collection on mental health and addiction. The administration revoked $11.4 billion in COVID-era grants on March 27, forcing treatment centers to drop patients mid-treatment and causing clinic closures.
The Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee was terminated April 9 despite being legally mandated through September 2027. Programs serving LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention were eliminated despite 1.3 million contacts since 2022.
Rural Health
The Health Resources and Services Administration dissolved, with $1.7 billion in cuts proposed for 2026. Seven of 12 regional offices were eliminated.
Federal funding for the Office of Rural Health Policy dropped 25%. This eliminated Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Grants, State Offices of Rural Health in all 50 states, rural residency programs, and nine opioid response programs serving rural communities.
The Healthy Start maternal health program was eliminated. Programs supporting 2.5 million American Indians and Alaska Natives through Indian Health Service face $900 million in cuts – 30% of base funding. Twelve facilities were forced to close in March 2025 due to lease cancellations.
FDA Staffing
The Food and Drug Administration cut 3,500 positions in April 2025, including support staff critical to review capacity.
Dr. Peter Marks, the top vaccine regulator who led Operation Warp Speed, was ousted March 29 after calling Kennedy’s actions “irresponsible, detrimental to public health and a clear danger.”
Scientists tracking drug-resistant gonorrhea and viral hepatitis outbreaks were laid off, as were bird flu outbreak response staff. In September 2025, the administration changed COVID-19 vaccine policy to approve annual shots only for those 65 and older or high-risk. This removed pregnant women from recommendations and complicated access for 100-200 million adults.
Community Health Centers
Community health centers serving 32.5 million Americans faced repeated funding disruptions starting January 28, 2025. Nearly half temporarily couldn’t access federal funds after a nationwide freeze.
One Virginia center closed permanently. St. John’s Community Health in Louisiana lost $4 million in CDC HIV prevention grants for refusing to change transgender policies.
The United States withdrew from the World Health Organization in January 2025, cutting all funding for pandemic preparedness, vaccine distribution, disease eradication, and international health cooperation.
Environmental Protection
EPA Research Division
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development was shut down entirely on July 20, 2025. The closure eliminated 1,115 employees and claimed $748.8 million in savings.
The shutdown ended independent EPA research on air pollutants, PFAS contamination, pesticides, and ozone pollution that formed the scientific basis for environmental regulations.
Environmental Justice Programs
The Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights closed on March 12, 2025, placing 168 employees on administrative leave before final terminations in August.
The office managed $3 billion in grants for lead pipe replacement, green workforce training, air quality monitoring, and flood protection in overburdened communities. The administration cancelled over 400 environmental justice grants totaling $1.7 billion.
All 10 regional environmental justice offices were eliminated. The EPA workforce shrank from 16,155 employees in January to 12,448 by July – a 23% reduction. Projections show it reaching 9,700 by year’s end, matching Reagan-era 1980s staffing levels.
Climate Finance
The $20 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund – a “green bank” financing clean energy projects in disadvantaged communities – was terminated between February and March 2025.
The program would have provided loans for solar installations, electric school buses, energy efficiency upgrades, and EV charging stations. Its elimination blocked access to affordable solar for 900,000 low-income households.
Courts initially froze the program’s accounts at Citibank. In September 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of EPA’s termination. Combined with frozen Clean Ports Program grants, Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Program funds, and community air quality monitoring grants, the administration blocked or cancelled nearly $29 billion in environmental and climate funding across 910 grants.
Climate Research
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research saw its budget reduced 75%, from $656 million to $171 million.
The agency’s Climate.gov website shut down May 31, 2025, after firing its 10-person staff. This removed climate science information from public access.
Four of six Regional Climate Centers serving 21 states closed abruptly April 17, 2025, cutting drought assessment capabilities crucial for agriculture and water management.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program was defunded April 9, 2025. Hundreds of scientific experts were dismissed from the National Climate Assessment on April 28. This eliminated a comprehensive source on how climate change affects U.S. regions, used by teachers, farmers, judges, mayors, emergency managers, and fire departments.
NOAA Operations
NOAA faces 25% budget cuts ($1.7 billion reduction) and mass layoffs that began February 27, 2025, affecting at least 800 employees initially.
At least seven of 122 National Weather Service offices no longer operate 24/7. Weather balloon launches were suspended in some areas.
The administration threatened to close the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction in Maryland and cancel the lease for Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii – home to the benchmark atmospheric CO2 tracking record.
NOAA terminated four advisory committees on March 3, 2025, including those covering space debris, climate adaptation, coastal management, and marine fisheries – some established as early as 1971. The agency stopped updating its “Billion-Dollar Disaster” tracker in May 2025, removing public visibility into extreme weather events.
Energy Department
The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy faces a proposed 75% budget reduction. Approximately 4,000 staffers – 25% of DOE’s workforce – accepted resignation incentives.
In September 2025, the office forbade staff from using terms including “climate change,” “green,” “decarbonization,” “energy transition,” “sustainability,” “carbon footprint,” and “emissions.”
The Interior Department revoked 3.5 million acres of federal waters designated for offshore wind on July 30, 2025, effectively ending federal offshore wind leasing. The American Climate Corps was terminated on Inauguration Day, eliminating thousands of jobs in climate and conservation work.
Disaster Preparedness
FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program – providing $1 billion over five years for disaster preparedness – ended April 4, 2025. This canceled all applications for flood protection, tornado preparation, and extreme weather resilience just days after severe storms hit wide U.S. areas.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced plans to “eliminate” FEMA entirely on March 24, 2025, threatening the end of federal disaster response coordination.
Deregulation
On March 12, 2025, EPA Administrator Zeldin announced “31 Historic Actions” in what EPA called a significant day of deregulation. These targeted carbon pollution standards for power plants, mercury and air toxics standards, vehicle greenhouse gas emissions rules, and the greenhouse gas reporting program.
The administration proposed rescinding the 2009 Endangerment Finding on July 29, 2025 – the legal determination that greenhouse gases threaten public health. This would eliminate EPA’s legal obligation to regulate climate pollution under the Clean Air Act.
Education
Department Staffing
The Department of Education workforce was cut nearly in half, from 4,133 to approximately 2,183 employees. This happened through layoffs of 1,315 employees and roughly 600 buyouts announced March 11, 2025.
The Office for Civil Rights lost 240 employees – half its staff. Seven of 12 regional offices permanently closed in March 2025, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, and San Francisco.
These offices served 25 states, two territories, and approximately 60,000 schools. The closures left over 20,000 pending civil rights complaints in limbo.
Education Research
The Institute of Education Sciences – the federal government’s education research agency – saw 90% of its staff terminated. The agency cancelled $881 million in research contracts between February 10 and early 2025.
Only approximately 20 people remain from the entire agency, with just three people left at the National Center for Education Statistics. Critical data systems face disruption or elimination, including the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, Beginning Postsecondary Students Survey, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, What Works Clearinghouse, and Civil Rights Data Collection.
College Access Programs
TRIO and GEAR UP programs serving 1.4 million low-income students face elimination. In September 2025, the administration froze hundreds of millions of dollars and canceled dozens of programs.
California’s 450 TRIO projects serving more than 100,000 students lost $150 million. The administration’s 2026 budget proposes complete elimination of TRIO’s $1.2 billion budget serving 870,000 students and GEAR UP serving 560,000 students annually.
New Hampshire lost access for 1,200 TRIO students and 4,000 GEAR UP students when $4.8 million was frozen.
Special Education
The administration cancelled 25 programs worth $14.8 million in September 2025. This included 17 teacher training projects, four deaf-blind centers serving 1,000 students, and three parent resource centers.
The administration claimed applications mentioned diversity, equity, or inclusion. Trump announced plans to move the Office of Special Education Programs from the Department of Education to Health and Human Services, though this requires Congressional approval. Over 40 disability rights groups opposed the move, which affects 8.4 million students with disabilities and $15.5 billion in funding.
School Grants
New York City lost $36 million in magnet schools assistance in September 2025, affecting 8,500 students, after refusing to change transgender student policies. Chicago and Fairfax, Virginia also lost magnet school grants.
The administration reduced $168 million from school mental health grants in April 2025, relaunching the program to support only school psychologists while excluding counselors and social workers.
Three programs supporting racial desegregation were terminated in September. The National Science Foundation archived four major STEM education research programs – Advancing Informal STEM Learning, Discovery Research PreK-12, Research on Emerging Technologies, and Building Capacity in STEM Education Research. These were replaced with a narrow $30 million AI-focused program.
COVID Relief Funding
Over $2 billion in COVID-19 pandemic relief funding was terminated with three minutes’ notice on September 20, 2025, across 41 states. Massachusetts alone lost $106 million that funded mental health services, tutoring, security, and building upgrades. The funding had been extended to March 2026 before abrupt cancellation.
Columbia University had $175 million frozen in February over antisemitism allegations. The University of Pennsylvania lost $175 million in March over transgender athlete policies.
Student Loans
Public Service Loan Forgiveness was restricted through a March 7 executive order limiting eligibility for nonprofits. As of August 31, 2025, 74,510 applications sat backlogged.
All income-driven repayment forgiveness programs – SAVE, PAYE, ICR, and IBR – were completely halted in 2025. Over 1.3 million IDR applications were pending by July-August. The American Federation of Teachers filed a class-action lawsuit in September 2025 challenging the halts.
The administration’s proposed 2026 budget eliminates the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant ($910 million) and cuts Federal Work-Study from $1.23 billion to $250 million – a $980 million reduction.
While Congress maintained Pell Grant funding levels, the administration initially proposed a $1,685 cut from $7,395 to $5,710 per student.
Civil Rights Enforcement
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties was completely shut down March 21, 2025, losing over 100 employees. This froze over 500 civil rights investigations into immigration detention, sexual abuse, and medical neglect.
The Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman and Immigration Detention Ombudsman were simultaneously eliminated.
The Social Security Administration eliminated its Office of Civil Rights on February 26, 2025, affecting approximately 140 employees who handled discrimination complaints, reasonable accommodations, and harassment reports.
Immigration and Refugees
Refugee Program
The United States Refugee Admissions Program was suspended entirely at 12:01 AM on January 27, 2025, via executive order signed on Inauguration Day.
Approximately 600,000 people being considered for admission had their cases frozen. Ten thousand vetted refugees with booked flights had travel cancelled. The program had resettled over 100,000 refugees annually under Biden, contributing $124 billion net positive to the U.S. economy from 2005-2019.
The Welcome Corps program – launched in 2023 to allow Americans to directly sponsor refugees –was terminated February 26, 2025, with all pending applications frozen.
Border Processing
The CBP One mobile application was shut down on Inauguration Day, canceling approximately 30,000 existing appointments for asylum seekers to present credible fear claims at eight southwest border ports of entry.
The CHNV humanitarian parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans was terminated January 20, 2025. The Supreme Court allowed removal to proceed May 30, 2025. Over 530,000 people who had been granted temporary entry and work authorization lost their parole status and became eligible for deportation.
Safe Mobility Offices in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guatemala closed in late January 2025. These offices had provided free screenings for lawful pathways to the U.S., resettling over 92,000 migrants and receiving applications from 600,000+ individuals. Congressional reports indicated nearly $80 million had been spent on the offices.
The Central American Minors parole program and various family reunification parole programs were terminated in January 2025. Follow-to-join refugee visas allowing families to reunite were suspended.
Temporary Protected Status
Temporary Protected Status terminations affect over one million people. Venezuela TPS affecting approximately 350,000 people was terminated January 29, 2025.
Haiti TPS was set to terminate February 20, 2025 for roughly 500,000 people, though courts have temporarily blocked it. Honduras and Nicaragua TPS were terminated July 8, 2025 with September 8 expiration dates, affecting 51,000 Hondurans and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans who had protections for over 25 years.
Ukraine TPS was terminated for over 160,000 people. Nepal TPS ended for approximately 7,000 people. Syria TPS was cancelled September 20, 2025, giving over 6,000 Syrians 60 days to leave or face deportation.
As of March 31, 2025, approximately 1.3 million people from 17 countries were protected by TPS before the administration began systematic terminations.
Immigration Services
Deferred Enforced Departure for Palestine expired August 13, 2025 without extension, removing protection and work authorization for over 7,000 Palestinians.
Deferred action for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status youth was ended, eliminating work permit eligibility for vulnerable youth awaiting status determinations.
The Citizenship and Integration Grant Program – providing federal funding to help lawful permanent residents prepare for citizenship through civics instruction and English classes – had all funding frozen in February 2025. Since 2009, the program awarded $155 million through 644 grants serving over 350,000 immigrants in 41 states, including organizations like CHIRLA in Los Angeles set to receive $450,000.
Detention Alternatives
Alternatives to detention were almost entirely eliminated starting January 2025. The program allowed deportation proceedings participants to be tracked via GPS monitoring at $4.50 per day versus $134 daily for detention, achieving nearly 100% court appearance success rates. Congress had provided approximately $470 million for fiscal year 2024.
FEMA’s Case Management Pilot Program providing community-based case management was suspended January 20, 2025. This eliminated an alternative costing $14.05 per person versus $164.65 for detention.
DHS Security Programs
The DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis – one of 18 agencies in the U.S. intelligence community – faces 75% workforce reduction from approximately 1,000 to 275 employees under plans announced July 2025. The office disseminated threat intelligence to local law enforcement and community groups.
The Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office is planned for elimination in the 2026 budget.
The Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program – an $18 million annual program funding threat assessment teams and programs preventing lone-wolf attacks – is eliminated in the 2026 budget. Former officials believed it helped thwart school shootings and mass casualty attacks.
Arts and Culture
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts cancelled hundreds of grants via email on May 2-3, 2025, following Trump’s 2026 budget proposal to completely eliminate the $207 million agency.
All 10 arts discipline directors resigned or departed May 7, 2025. Over 50% of open awards were terminated. Organizations losing funding included the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Berkeley Repertory Theater, Central Park SummerStage, regional theaters, and literary magazines.
The administration imposed requirements that grant applicants certify nonpromotion of “gender ideology” and DEI programs. This was temporarily halted after the ACLU filed suit March 6, 2025.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities cancelled approximately 1,200 grants in early April 2025 and issued reduction-in-force notices to 65-75% of staff – eliminating about 140 of 210 employees.
The budget was cut from $210 million to approximately $145 million, with complete elimination proposed for 2026. State humanities councils across the country received immediate termination notices. Connecticut Humanities lost $1.5 million of its $4 million budget. Virginia Humanities lost $1.35 million.
Approximately $17 million each from NEH and NEA was redirected to Trump’s proposed National Garden of American Heroes sculpture park and America 250th anniversary celebrations.
Libraries and Museums
The Institute of Museum and Library Services was targeted for complete elimination via March 14, 2025 executive order. The entire staff of approximately 70-75 employees was placed on 90-day paid administrative leave March 31, 2025, barred from premises, and lost email access.
The 2026 budget allocates only $6 million for agency shutdown from a previous $313.58 million budget. Programs eliminated include Library Services and Technology Act grants to states, Museum Services Act grants, Braille books for the blind, after-school tutoring, upgraded internet for rural libraries, and homeschool education kits.
Despite a temporary restraining order in May, by June federal courts allowed the administration to proceed with dismantling. The First Circuit upheld the decision September 11, 2025.
Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting faces elimination after Trump attempted to fire three of five board members April 28, 2025. He issued an executive order May 1, 2025 directing CPB to cease all funding to NPR and PBS.
The order directed federal agencies to terminate NPR/PBS funding by June 30, 2025. Current funding of $535 million annually is appropriated through September 30, 2027, though the 2026 budget proposes complete elimination.
NPR receives approximately 2% direct and indirect federal funding. Member stations receive 8-10% from CPB. PBS stations receive approximately 15%. CPB filed suit May 2, 2025, arguing the executive order violates federal law protecting its independence.
NASA and Science
NASA faces the largest single-year budget cut in agency history – a 24% reduction from $24.8-25 billion to $18.8 billion in the 2026 proposal.
The science budget would be slashed by approximately 47-50%, from $7.3 billion to $3.9 billion. Approximately 40 missions are slated for cancellation. Workforce would drop from 17,391 to 11,853 employees – a 32% cut of approximately 5,500 jobs.
Missions targeted include Mars Sample Return ($7 billion already partially funded), severe cuts to Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, and elimination of climate research programs. The Office of STEM Engagement faces complete elimination.
Senate whistleblowers reported in September 2025 that OMB secretly directed implementation since June, raising safety concerns due to staffing shortages.
The National Science Foundation, which funds 25% of federally backed basic research at U.S. universities, faces a proposed 55-57% cut from approximately $9.1 billion to $3.9-4 billion. Graduate student fellowship programs, research grants across all disciplines, and programs at Nobel Prize-winning facilities like the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory are threatened.
Both Senate and House appropriations committees have pushed back. The Senate proposed only 0.7% reduction and the House proposed 23% cuts rather than Trump’s 57%.
Smithsonian and Kennedy Center
The Smithsonian Institution closed its Office of Diversity January 28, 2025, laying off seven diversity staff in March.
A March 27, 2025 executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” directed review of Smithsonian museums’ exhibits. The order prohibits future appropriations for exhibits that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race.”
The Kennedy Center underwent complete leadership overhaul when Trump was elected chairman February 12, 2025, replacing David M. Rubenstein. The board fired President Deborah F. Rutter after 11 years, appointing Richard Grennell as interim president.
Eighteen board members were fired – primarily Biden appointees – and replaced with Trump allies including Usha Vance, Susie Wiles, and Dan Scavino. Trump criticized 2024 drag shows “targeting youth” and declared the building in “tremendous disrepair” during a March 17 tour.
The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities was completely disbanded January 20, 2025 via Trump’s first executive order, reversing Biden’s September 2022 revival. The committee held its final meeting January 9, 2025.
The annual $335,000 budget supported meetings between arts leaders including Lady Gaga, George Clooney, Shonda Rhimes, Yo-Yo Ma and federal officials on disaster relief for cultural sites, NAGPRA repatriation, and arts education.
Social Services
Job Training
Job Corps was completely shut down May 29, 2025, with phased closure completed by June 30, 2025. The program provided job training, education, and placement services for disadvantaged young adults aged 16-24 at contractor-operated centers nationwide.
The administration cited a $140 million deficit in 2024 with projected $213 million deficit in 2025, low 38.6% graduation rate, and costs of $80,284 per student annually. The $1.7 billion program served thousands of young adults who lost access to training mid-program.
Aging and Disability Services
The Administration for Community Living was dissolved entirely, announced March 27, 2025 with staff cuts implemented April 1 when nearly half of employees were laid off.
The agency administered over $2.4 billion in programs annually supporting older adults and people with disabilities. This included 261 million meals through Meals on Wheels nutrition programs, caregiver support for 1.5 million families, independent living services for 250,000+ disabled people, and counseling for 1.8 million Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries.
Programs were “split across” other HHS agencies without clear continuity plans, eliminating dedicated advocacy and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.
Energy Assistance
All federal staff administering the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program were fired in early April 2025 – approximately 25 employees managing the $4.1 billion program providing heating and cooling assistance to 6.7 million households annually.
The layoffs left $378 million appropriated but undisbursed, with 22 states and 5 territories without local contacts. The program served 2.1 million households with disabled members, 1 million with small children, and 2.4 million with elderly residents. The 2026 budget proposes complete elimination, citing “fraud and abuse”.
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps faced cuts when 85% of its workforce was placed on administrative leave April 25, 2025, with terminations effective June 24, 2025.
The administration abruptly cancelled $400 million in grants and forced 32,000 service members to stop work immediately. This suspended disaster relief work including Los Angeles fire and Hurricane Helene recovery, educational programs, affordable housing construction, veteran services, and food bank operations.
States sued, and a preliminary injunction in June 2025 restored programs in plaintiff states. OMB continued withholding funds through July.
Food Assistance
SNAP food assistance was cut by an estimated $187-300 billion over 10 years through budget reconciliation signed July 4, 2025.
Changes included forcing states to pay a percentage of benefit costs based on error rates starting fiscal 2028, reducing federal administrative support from 50% to 25%, expanding work requirements by eliminating exemptions for homeless individuals and veterans, freezing benefit calculations, and restricting immigrant eligibility.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates 2.4 million people will lose eligibility from the 42.6 million currently served. Texas already opted out of Summer EBT citing SNAP obligations.
The Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program faces proposed 62-75% cuts to Cash Value Benefits for fruits and vegetables in the 2026 budget – cutting children’s benefits from $26 to $10 monthly and pregnant/postpartum participants from $47-52 to $13 monthly.
This $1.3+ billion reduction affects 5.2 million of the nearly 7 million participants. It reduces children’s fruit/vegetable access to just 19% of recommended daily intake.
Housing Programs
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is reducing its workforce by targeting a 50% cut from approximately 82,000 employees. Specific offices face 84% reductions in Community Planning and Development, 77% cuts in fair housing enforcement, and 50% reductions in voucher administration.
The Green and Resilient Retrofit Program providing over $1 billion to upgrade apartment buildings was terminated. The administration cancelled $30 million in Fair Housing Enforcement Grants to 66 nonprofits – two-thirds of funded organizations – in March 2025. This left most housing discrimination claims unaddressed.
Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers helping 7+ million people were reduced by $1.3 billion in fiscal 2025. The 2026 budget proposes a 40% cut, conversion to state block grants, and 2-year time limits for “able-bodied adults.”
The 2026 budget proposes complete elimination of the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Community Development Block Grants (over $3 billion annually), Native American Housing Block Grants, and multiple self-sufficiency programs.
Social Security
The Social Security Administration is cutting 7,000 jobs, reducing from 57,000 to 50,000 employees despite already being at a 50-year staffing low. In fiscal 2023, 30,000 people died waiting for disability determinations.
The Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity was closed February 28, 2025.
Other Eliminated Programs
The 2026 budget proposes eliminating the Community Service Employment for Older Americans ($405 million), the Women’s Bureau, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service ($54 million), Economic Development Administration ($113 million), Minority Business Development Agency ($68 million previously targeted), U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness ($4 million), Prevention and Public Health Fund ($1.4 billion), refugee and asylee assistance, Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve ($7 million), Community Relations Service ($24 million), and Legal Services Corporation.
Head Start serving over 833,000 children is referenced in Project 2025 for elimination.
An executive order titled “Ending the Housing First Program” signed July 24, 2025 directs eliminating programs that quickly place homeless people in permanent housing without barriers. It removes people from federal housing assistance if deemed not following treatment requirements. This affects 150,000+ disabled people experiencing chronic homelessness.
Justice and Civil Rights
DOJ Grant Terminations
The Department of Justice terminated 373 grants totaling approximately $500 million (originally valued at $820 million) on April 22-23, 2025, affecting 221 organizations in 37 states.
Programs cut spanned community violence intervention ($145 million), law enforcement and prosecution ($71.7 million), victim services ($50 million), juvenile justice and child protection ($137 million), substance abuse and mental health treatment ($88 million), corrections and reentry ($76.7 million), and justice system improvements ($92 million). The administration stated programs “no longer effectuate Department priorities”.
Major terminated programs included the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative funded through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act ($250 million authorization), hospital-based violence intervention programs, the State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training program that trained 427,000+ practitioners since 1996, and the Officer Robert Wilson III VALOR Initiative for officer safety and wellness.
Sexual assault nurse examiner training, human trafficking victim services, regional child advocacy centers, school bullying prevention programs, Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Programs, comprehensive opioid and substance use programs, co-responder teams pairing law enforcement with health care professionals, and the National PREA Resource Center for Prison Rape Elimination Act compliance all lost funding.
The Justice Reinvestment Initiative – in which 44 states participated and saved $3.2 billion – had $92 million terminated. Research on violent extremism, elder abuse, hate crimes, hospital violence intervention evaluations, officer retention, and Deaths in Custody Reporting Act compliance assistance lost $64 million.
Court access programs lost $29 million. Hate crime prevention and response in 18 states lost $35 million. The National Ashanti Alert Network for missing persons lost $2.8 million. Wrongful conviction programs lost $2.9 million.
Equal Justice USA – a national organization supporting victims of violent crime, violence prevention, and death penalty abolition – shut down permanently August 15, 2025 after losing $2.4 million in terminated DOJ grants following 35 years of operation.
Voting Rights
The DOJ Civil Rights Division lost 70% of its attorneys – hundreds of career attorneys departing – as the division’s traditional mission was replaced with enforcing Trump executive orders.
Cases dropped include Louisiana congressional redistricting (dismissed January 28, 2025), Texas redistricting (dismissed before trial March 2025), Georgia Houston County (dismissed March 24, 2025), Alabama voter purge (dismissed January 28, 2025), and Georgia SB 202 voting restrictions (dismissed March 27, 2025).
On September 25, 2025, DOJ filed a Supreme Court brief arguing Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional as applied. This abandoned its role as the Act’s champion.
Foreign Influence and Criminal Enforcement
Task Force KleptoCapture – established to seize Russian oligarch assets as punishment for Ukraine invasion/– was disbanded February 5-7, 2025. Focus shifted to fentanyl and cartels instead.
The Foreign Influence Task Force established during Trump’s first term to police Russian and foreign disinformation was disbanded February 5-7, 2025, with attorneys returned to prior posts.
Prosecutors were directed February 5, 2025 to focus Foreign Agents Registration Act enforcement on traditional espionage rather than registration violations. This weakened disclosure requirements for foreign government lobbying.
The Office of Environmental Justice within DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division was eliminated in February 2025, with five employees placed on administrative leave and 20 additional ENRD employees facing reduction in force. All pending environmental litigation was frozen.
The Office for Access to Justice was significantly reduced or defunded. The Office on Violence Against Women faces proposed 29% budget cuts from $684 million to $505.5 million and consolidation into the Office of Justice Programs, eliminating its status as a separate and distinct office despite statutory requirements.
Diversity Programs
Government-Wide Order
An executive order signed January 20, 2025 titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” directed all federal agencies to terminate DEI offices, positions, and programs within 60 days.
All “Chief Diversity Officer” positions were eliminated government-wide. Equity action plans were withdrawn. Equity-related grants and contracts were terminated.
A second order on January 21 titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” revoked Executive Order 11246 – the 1965 Johnson administration order requiring federal contractors to implement affirmative action. It directed DOJ to identify private sector companies with “egregious and discriminatory” DEI programs for investigation and prosecution.
Agency-Specific Actions
The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Justice Policy and Analysis placed 25 employees on administrative leave in January 2025, redirecting its website to Trump “energy dominance” content.
The Department of Education dissolved its Diversity & Inclusion Council and Employee Engagement Diversity Equity Inclusion Accessibility Council on January 23, 2025. It cancelled $2.6 million in DEI training contracts, withdrew its Equity Action Plan, placed career staff on paid leave, and removed over 200 web pages with DEI resources.
The State Department removed “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility” from Foreign Service tenure and promotion criteria in March 2025. It directed that recruitment, hiring, promotion, and retention not consider race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
The National Gallery of Art closed its Office of Belonging and Inclusion in late January 2025, removing words “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion,” and “access” from its values list and reassigning two staff members. The office had been founded only in 2020. The gallery receives approximately 80% of its operating budget from federal funds.
Federal Advisory Committees
DHS Committees
The Department of Homeland Security terminated all memberships on its advisory committees immediately on January 20, 2025.
This disbanded the Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board, Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council, National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, National Infrastructure Advisory Council, USSS Cyber Investigations Advisory Board, and Aviation Security Advisory Committee – the latter mandated by Congress after the 1988 Pan Am 103 bombing.
Acting Secretary Benjamine C. Huffman cited “eliminating misuse of resources” and prioritizing national security.
Health and Government Committees
The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee – 14 voting members with infectious disease expertise issuing recommendations to prevent infectious disease spread in health care facilities – was terminated in the week of August 2025. This left no expert guidance for health care infection prevention.
The Open Government Federal Advisory Committee providing expert advice on transparency and accountability was terminated February 19-26, 2025.
A February 19, 2025 executive order eliminated the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid, Academic Research Council, Credit Union Advisory Council, Community Bank Advisory Council, Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Long COVID, and Health Equity Advisory Committee.
Census Bureau advisory committees were terminated in March 2025.
Agency Eliminations
Executive Order Targets
Executive Order 14238 “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy” signed March 14, 2025 directed elimination of seven federal agencies “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law” within seven days.
Beyond the Institute of Museum and Library Services detailed above, targets included the Minority Business Development Agency (created 1969 by Nixon, permanently authorized by Congress in 2021), Community Development Financial Institutions Fund at Treasury, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, United States Agency for Global Media including Voice of America, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Presidio Trust, Inter-American Foundation, United States African Development Foundation, and United States Institute of Peace.
Minority Business Development Agency
The Minority Business Development Agency with a $68.25 million fiscal 2025 budget was ordered “fully eliminated” per White House budget documents on May 2, 2025.
All employees received RIF notices, though a federal court injunction ordered reinstatement May 13, 2025 which the administration appealed. In fiscal 2024, the agency helped minority businesses access $1.5 billion in capital and create or retain 23,000 jobs.
Federal Executive Institute
The Federal Executive Institute – providing leadership training for federal executives since 1968 –was eliminated February 10, 2025. The White House stated “bureaucratic leadership” hasn’t benefited American families.
Interagency Task Forces
Biden-era executive orders establishing coordinating bodies were revoked January 20, 2025 through “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.”
The Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families (Biden EO 14011 from February 2, 2021) was revoked, as was the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement (Biden EO 14089 from December 13, 2022). The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology established under Biden was revoked and replaced with a new Trump version.
Workforce Reductions
Federal civilian workforce declined from 2.3 million employees in September 2024 to 2.2 million by March 2025.
Specific agencies faced devastating cuts: HHS reduced from 82,000 to 62,000 employees (20,000 jobs, 24% cut) with regional offices cut from 10 to 5. Education cut nearly half its workforce from 4,133 to approximately 2,183. EPA reduced from 16,155 to 12,448 (23%) with projections to reach 9,700 by year’s end (33% cut).
NOAA laid off at least 800 employees starting February 27 with 25% budget cuts proposed. Energy Department saw approximately 4,000 employees (25% of workforce) accept resignations. NASA workforce would drop from 17,391 to 11,853 (32% cut). AmeriCorps placed 85% of its workforce on leave. NEH cut 65-75% of staff. Social Security cut 7,000 jobs from 57,000 to 50,000. HUD targeted 50% workforce reductions with specific offices facing 84% cuts.
Legal Challenges
Multiple federal lawsuits challenge program terminations, with mixed results through September 30, 2025.
The Minority Business Development Agency received a federal injunction ordering reinstatement on May 13, 2025, which the administration appealed. AmeriCorps programs were restored in plaintiff states via preliminary injunction in June 2025, but OMB continued withholding funds through July.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services received a temporary restraining order in May, but by June federal courts allowed dismantling to proceed, with the First Circuit upholding the decision September 11.
Numerous organizations filed suit over environmental justice grant cancellations, including the Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice, with several states suing EPA and Citibank over the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The Government Accountability Office concluded IMLS violated the Impoundment Control Act by withholding appropriated funds.
Many proposed eliminations in the fiscal 2026 budget require Congressional approval. Through September 2025, both Senate and House appropriations committees pushed back on the most severe cuts, particularly for NASA and NSF. The Senate rejected most extreme proposals while the House proposed less severe reductions than the White House. Final appropriations remained undetermined as the government approached the September 30, 2025 funding deadline.
Administration Rationale
The administration consistently cited eliminating “radical and wasteful” DEI programs, reducing government size, cutting fraud and waste, redirecting resources to border enforcement and fentanyl/cartel efforts, removing “divisive, race-centered ideology” and “gender ideology,” focusing on “American exceptionalism,” and dismantling the “administrative state.”
Environmental justice was characterized as an “excuse to fund left-wing activists” rather than directly remediating pollution. Climate programs were labeled “climate scam programs.” Grant terminations cited programs that “no longer effectuate agency priorities.”
Budget cuts were justified as improving efficiency and being “responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.” Independent analysis by the Penn Wharton Budget Model found that while the lowest 20% of income earners lost an average 3.8% of income from cuts, the highest 20% gained an average 3.7% through tax cuts funded by the reductions.
The $187-300 billion in SNAP cuts and $930 billion in Medicaid cuts over 10 years contribute to an overall deficit increase of $2.7-3.1 trillion when combined with $4.1 trillion in tax cuts. The top 10% of earners receive approximately 80% of the legislation’s total value.
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