By O. Rose Broderick and Lev Facher Oct. 30, 2025
Broderick and Facher interviewed more than 30 current and former SAMHSA officials, Capitol Hill aides, lobbyists, and leaders in the behavioral health field for
this article.
The Trump administration has dismantled large portions of the federal agency focused on mental health and addiction treatment, reducing its staff by more than half and alarming local governments, nonprofits, and behavioral health providers that rely on the office for funding and expertise, according to a STAT examination. Since January, layoffs and funding cuts at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration have ground much of the agency’s work to a halt. The agency has terminated $1.7 billion in block grants for state health departments and cut roughly $350 million in addiction and overdose prevention funding. At the Center for Mental Health
Services, more than half of its 130 employees have been let go, including all but one of those responsible for youth mental health programs. Read more