The department had a discretionary budget of about $121 billion in fiscal year 2024, but the Trump administration is now seeking to reduce that budget to about $80 billion in fiscal year 2026, according to a preliminary budget memo obtained by The Washington Post.
The preliminary document calls for eliminating entire agencies to reduce the department’s budget, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Health Resources and Services Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.
It also calls for the creation of a new agency called the Administration for a Healthy America and would encompass parts of agencies facing potential funding cuts, like the National Institutes of Health.
The proposal cuts all funding for the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative, which President Trump launched during his first administration. HHS has already gutted numerous branches of its HIV response office, worrying stakeholder on the future of ongoing efforts to combat the epidemic.
Reports on the preliminary budget change come after the Trump administration has massively restructured HHS, laying off 10,000 employees at the department. Another 10,000 employees have left their job after taking a “fork in the road” offer from the Trump administration.
This budget is not a final submission and anything that is submitted would need the approval of Congress to be implemented.
