Expert warns 'people will die' after Trump risks 'Armageddon' with new budget cuts

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the signing ceremony for the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 14, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Overnight and without warning, the Trump administration slashed around $2 billion from mental health and addiction programs, leaving organizations, front-line providers, and possibly millions of patients without immediate recourse.

The cuts were announced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The scope is “vast,” STAT reported.

“Three sources said they believe total cuts to nonprofit groups, many providing street-level care to people experiencing addiction, homelessness and mental illness, could reach roughly $2 billion,” NPR reported.

“Waking up to nearly $2 billion in grant cancellations means front-line providers are forced to cease overdose prevention, naloxone distribution, and peer recovery services immediately, leaving our communities defenseless against a raging crisis,” Ryan Hampton, the founder of the nonprofit Mobilize Recovery, told NPR.

“This cruelty will be measured in lives lost, as recovery centers shutter and the safety net we built is slashed overnight,” Hampton added. “We are witnessing the dismantling of our recovery infrastructure in real-time, and the administration will have blood on its hands for every preventable death that follows.”

Hampton said his own group lost $500,000 “overnight.”

“It feels like Armageddon for everyone who’s on the frontlines of the addiction and mental health space,” Hampton told The Guardian. “The scope of care that’s disrupted by these grants is catastrophic. Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people will die.”

The loss is extensive.

According to The Guardian, “cuts will affect overdose-prevention work, naloxone distribution and use by first responders, mental health and substance use support within schools, support for pregnant and postpartum women who receive assistance for substance use disorder, underage drinking prevention and recovery support programs.”

The American Psychiatric Association’s president, Theresa M. Miskimen Rivera, M.D., said the cuts are “nothing short of catastrophic,” and place “millions of Americans with unmet mental health and substance use disorder needs at even greater risk.”

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) wrote, “So much for Make America Healthy Again and saving Americans from addiction and suicide—last night, the Trump administration decided to rip $2 billion away from communities across the country to tackle the fentanyl crisis and get people mental health care.”

“This administration’s claims about taking on the opioid crisis couldn’t be more hollow,” she said.

From Your Site Articles