President Donald Trump is preparing a sweeping proposal to slash the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget by roughly one-third – about $40 billion – a move that experts warn could have disastrous consequences for public health, medical research, and childcare programmes across the country, The Washington Post reports.
According to a draft document known as a “passback,” the proposed cut offers the first detailed look at Trump’s 2026 fiscal priorities through the Office of Management and Budget. The draft outlines a dramatic reshaping of key federal health agencies that currently oversee everything from food and drug safety to biomedical research and responses to infectious disease threats.
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Even areas of care that align with Trump’s own “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, as pushed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are reportedly on the chopping block. Prevention-based care programs are not spared, despite being central to Kennedy’s proposed health strategy.
The proposal would shrink the HHS discretionary budget from $121 billion to $80 billion. This comes amid an already major workforce reduction—roughly 20,000 positions have been cut since Trump took office. Among the layoffs are Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff who worked on programs addressing drowning prevention, workplace safety, sexually transmitted infections, and hepatitis.
The impact stretches to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well. According to the report, NIH staff responsible for managing scientific funding have been instructed to cancel contracts and pull hundreds of grants. These include research into vaccine hesitancy, transgender health, and COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the administration has also slashed staffing at the HHS division overseeing child care. Even more cuts are being planned for Head Start, the vital early childhood education program for low-income families.
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“It would be catastrophic,” said Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of the National Head Start Association. “More than a million parents wouldn’t be able to go to work because of all those children, or they would have to scramble to find some other type of option. In a lot of communities, Head Start is the only early childhood provider in the community, especially rural America.”
Though Congress is not required to adopt the president’s budget, House Republicans could choose to support similar measures, raising serious concerns about the future of federal health and child care services.
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