Trump administration cancels then quickly restores about $2B in SAMHSA mental health and addiction grants after bipartisan backlash
The Trump administration abruptly notified roughly 2,000 grantees that nearly $2 billion—about one‑quarter of SAMHSA’s budget—for mental‑health and addiction programs would be terminated in letters signed by SAMHSA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher Carroll invoking a regulation allowing awards to be ended, a move staff say was not widely communicated and that prompted layoffs and canceled trainings at providers such as Las Vegas’s PACT Coalition (losing $560,000) and Boston’s Baker Center for Children and Families (losing $1 million and jeopardizing care for about 600 families, including a National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative grant). After intense same‑day bipartisan backlash and high‑level meetings, HHS reversed the decision and began notifying more than 2,000 organizations that funding would be restored, though it remains unclear who authorized the cuts or the reversal and advocates say the episode left providers “deeply alarmed” after a “day of panic.”
📌 Key Facts
- On Tuesday night the Trump administration canceled about 2,000 SAMHSA grants totaling nearly $2 billion — roughly one-quarter of SAMHSA’s overall budget.
- The cancellation letters were signed by SAMHSA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher Carroll and cited a regulation permitting termination of awards that "no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities."
- Many SAMHSA staff were not widely notified of the cuts, and affected organizations began laying off staff and canceling trainings.
- Local providers were hit hard: the Las Vegas-based PACT Coalition lost $560,000 across three grants; Boston’s Baker Center for Children and Families lost $1 million across two grants (one from the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative), jeopardizing care for about 600 families.
- After intense same‑day bipartisan backlash from members of Congress and providers nationwide and high‑level meetings inside the administration, an HHS official said the decision was reversed and the more than $2 billion in mental‑health and addiction grant funding will be restored, with more than 2,000 organizations being notified of reinstatement.
- Reporting has not been able to determine who inside HHS or the administration made the initial decision to cancel the grants or who ultimately ordered the reversal.
- Advocates described the 24–48 hour episode as a “day of panic,” saying staff feared losing jobs and very sick patients would lose care, and warned that months of administration rhetoric questioning public‑health programs has left providers feeling "rudderless" and deeply alarmed despite the restoration.
📊 Relevant Data
Among U.S. adults, the prevalence of serious mental illness is highest for individuals reporting two or more races at 7.5 percent, followed by American Indian/Alaska Native at 4.9 percent, White at 4.8 percent, Black at 3.7 percent, Hispanic at 3.6 percent, and Asian at 2.4 percent, based on 2023 data.
Mental Health Disparities Among Racial and Ethnic Minorities — American Psychological Association
In 2023, awareness of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline was lower among Black (16%), Hispanic (11%), and Asian (13%) adults compared to White (22%) adults in the U.S.
From 2021 to 2023, substantial racial and ethnic differences were observed in U.S. adolescent mental health service use after the COVID-19 pandemic, with lower utilization rates among racial and ethnic minority adolescents compared to White adolescents.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Mental Health Service Use Among Adolescents in the US Before and After COVID-19 — JAMA Network Open
In a 2025 study, Black patients presenting to the emergency department with opioid overdose were less likely to receive outpatient treatment referrals compared to White patients.
Disparities in Treatment and Referral After an Opioid Overdose Among Medicaid Beneficiaries in North Carolina — JAMA Network Open
According to 2024 NSDUH data, 27.9 million people ages 12 and older (9.7% of this age group) had alcohol use disorder in the past year, with demographic breakdowns showing variations by age and other factors.
Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in the United States: Age Groups and Demographic Characteristics — National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- NPR confirms, via a Trump administration official, that the sweeping cuts to more than $2 billion in mental‑health and addiction funding are being reversed, in line with earlier reporting but emphasizing there is still no clear explanation for either the cancellation or the restoration.
- The piece highlights the human‑level fallout from the 24‑hour whiplash, quoting National Alliance on Mental Illness representative Hannah Wesolowski on staff believing they would lose jobs and very sick patients would lose care.
- NPR adds that the reversal comes against a backdrop of months of Trump‑administration rhetoric that many public‑health programs are ineffective and need to be overhauled, which advocates say leaves them feeling 'rudderless.'
- An HHS official with direct knowledge told NPR the decision to terminate more than $2 billion in mental health and addiction grants has been reversed and the funds will be restored.
- More than 2,000 organizations and grant recipients are being notified as quickly as possible that their funding is being reinstated.
- The reversal followed intense same‑day backlash from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress and from providers nationwide, with high‑level meetings inside the Trump administration on Wednesday.
- Advocates like Hannah Wesolowski of NAMI describe the last 48 hours as a “day of panic” but say the episode has left organizations “deeply alarmed” even as they welcome the reversal.
- NPR reports it has not yet been able to determine who inside HHS or the administration made the initial cut decision or who ultimately ordered the reversal.
- Confirms about 2,000 grants were canceled Tuesday night, totaling nearly $2 billion—framed as roughly one‑quarter of SAMHSA’s overall budget.
- Identifies SAMHSA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher Carroll as the official whose signed letters invoked a regulation allowing termination of awards that 'no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities.'
- Reports that staff within SAMHSA were not widely notified of the cuts, according to two internal sources, and that organizations have already begun laying off staff and canceling trainings.
- Names specific affected providers and local impacts, including the Las Vegas‑based PACT Coalition losing $560,000 across three grants and Boston’s Baker Center for Children and Families losing $1 million across two grants, jeopardizing care for about 600 families.
- Details that one of the canceled Baker Center grants came through the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative, a more than 20‑year‑old federal program supporting specialized care for children who have experienced severe trauma.