Trump slashes mental health agency as shutdown drags on

Sign for the 988 Lifeline mental health emergency hotline, Walnut Creek, California, December 20, 2024. The Trump administration has laid off more than 100 employees at the agency responsible for overseeing the number. Smith Collection/Gado via Getty Images hide caption

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Smith Collection/Gado via Getty Images

The Trump administration has laid off more than 100 employees at the nation's main mental health agency, NPR has learned.

Current and former employees at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA) told NPR about the layoffs, which were part of a government-wide reduction in force. The sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the agency, said the layoffs came late Friday, as the nation's government shutdown dragged on.

Employees were notified of a "Reduction in Force" shortly before 8 p.m. ET on Friday, according to a source within the agency who was not authorized to discuss the layoffs publicly. According to the source, administration officials offered no rationale for who lost their jobs:

"I think the general feeling today is shock — and not understanding why?" the source told NPR.

That source was aware of dozens of firings. Two former employees told NPR that the total number of employees at SAMHSA who lost their jobs was around 125, though that number was a rough estimate. SAMHSA had employed around 900 people.

The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment.

SAMHSA is responsible for overseeing the new 988 suicide prevention hotline. It also gives out billions in grants for mental health and addiction services. It was created in 1992 through bipartisan legislation signed by then-President George H.W. Bush. In 2024 its budget was about $7.5 billion, most of which went directly to states for programs aimed at mental health issues and addiction.

SAMHSA funds "are the backbone of behavioral health in this country," Rachel Winograd, a psychologist at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis, told NPR earlier this year. "If those grants were to go away, we'd be screwed."

Despite having what many see as an essential role in protecting the nation's mental health, SAMHSA has not been viewed favorably by the current administration. President Trump had proposed slashing its budget as part of his Big Beautiful Bill. And earlier this year, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Congress that he intended to fold its duties into a new program he calls the Administration for a Healthy America.

CDC in confusion as some cuts reversed

A sign marks the entrance to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Atlanta. Several key parts of the agency are losing employees. Brynn Anderson/AP hide caption

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Brynn Anderson/AP

SAMHSA was not the only agency to see staff laid off on Friday evening. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also appears to have suffered cuts to staffing, according to two employees who say they were affected by the firings. Both employees were not authorized to speak to the press while the layoffs are being finalized.

But the cuts at CDC seemed to be in flux late Saturday. In an apparent reversal, one employee had their firing undone according to a letter seen by NPR. The letter, from Tom Nagy, the Chief Human Capital Officer at the department of Health and Human Services said the employee's Reduction in Force was "hereby revoked."

The source said they were aware of other reversals at the CDC, but it was unclear how many employees received such letters.

Before the reversals went out, one CDC official who was laid off told NPR that the agency had been the subject of sweeping cuts to staff at offices responsible for disease surveillance, outbreak forecasting, chronic diseases, and immunization and respiratory diseases, to name but a few. "If you wanted to weaken America's public health capacity without saying it outright, this is how you'd do it — remove the people who connect the dots, steady the ship, and keep the public informed," the official who was laid off told NPR.

The New York Times also reported extensive cuts at the public health agency, including two senior officials responsible for overseeing the CDC's measles response team. HHS did not respond to NPR's request for comment about CDC cuts by deadline.

NPR's Pien Huang and Jeff Brady contributed to this report.