Congresswoman Maxine Waters Condemns Trump Administration Plans to Slash Health Department Funding

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43) released a statement in response to reports that the Trump administration plans to slash $40 billion from the budget of the Department of Health and Human Services in Fiscal Year 2026, which is about one-third of the department’s current budget. Her statement follows:

I was absolutely appalled to learn of the Trump administration’s plans to slash $40 billion from the budget of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Far from making America healthy again, this cruel and senseless budget would dismantle the life-saving programs that enable Americans to stay healthy – from medical research by the National Institutes of Health to disease prevention by the Centers for Disease Control – from substance use treatment by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to the training of our nation’s future health care workforce. This budget will undermine our ability to prevent future pandemics like COVID, influenza, bird flu, and measles, and shut down research to find cures for life-threatening conditions like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and HIV/AIDS.

Trump’s plan to dismantle our nation’s HIV/AIDS programs is especially outrageous. The budget would slash funding for the Ryan White program and completely eliminate the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention, the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative, and all funding for the Minority AIDS Initiative within the CDC, SAMHSA, and the Office of the Secretary. 

I created the Minority AIDS Initiative back in 1998 – with the help of the Clinton Administration and my congressional colleagues – and I am proud that bipartisan majorities in Congress have continued to support this critical initiative for more than two decades. The Minority AIDS Initiative is essential because minorities represent the majority of new HIV diagnoses, people living with HIV/AIDS, and deaths among people with HIV/AIDS.

Dismantling our nation’s HIV/AIDS programs will have catastrophic consequences for public health, particularly in the most vulnerable communities. HIV prevention programs play a critical role in reducing new infections, promoting testing and early diagnosis, and connecting individuals to life-saving treatment. The decision to zero out prevention funding will destroy the very programs that serve as the first line of defense in our battle against HIV, putting millions of Americans at heightened risk and causing transmission rates to soar. Meanwhile, slashing funding for the Ryan White program will leave thousands of Americans who are living with HIV unable to access comprehensive care and treatment for their infection. 

This budget is not just reckless – it is deadly. By decimating HIV/AIDS funding, lives will be lost. People who depend on prevention services will be left unprotected. People who rely on outreach programs for testing will go undiagnosed. Health systems that have worked tirelessly to combat this epidemic will be overwhelmed with preventable cases and no federal funding to treat their patients. This is an unconscionable abdication of responsibility by the federal government.

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