Bay Area House Democrats claim victory as White House reverses $1.9 billion cut in health funding
When the Trump administration announced $1.9 billion in mental health and social service cuts on late Tuesday night — sending out termination notices to some 2,000 organizations — more than 100 Congressional Democrats demanded answers.
“We are extremely concerned by reports of the sudden termination of what appears to be the vast majority of the discretionary grants at Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,” Democrats wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “ Addressing mental health and substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery is a bipartisan priority.”
By Wednesday night, the White House had cancelled the cuts, one of the first major reversals of terminated or frozen federal funding in Democratic states — even as grants for climate projects, childcare and healthcare remain outstanding.
California District 18 Rep. Zoe Lofgren said Democrats’ swift response was key to overturning the Trump administration’s decision.
“Congress got organized, flooded the zone, and got these grants reinstated. But it’s ridiculous that the White House terminated this funding in the first place and caused so much worry and confusion,” Lofgren said in a statement. “What was the Trump administration possibly thinking?”
SAMHSA grants provide resources for overdose prevention, addiction recovery, and mental health services to individuals across the country. The nearly $2 billion cut would have affected more than 2,000 community-based organizations across the country, according to House Democrats. California received $949,940,335 in SAMHSA discretionary funds in 2025, according to HHS records.
In California District 12, the cut amounted to $13.8 million at 13 different organizations, according to Rep. Lateefah Simon’s office. Simon shared with Bay Area News Group a draft letter addressed to Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher Carroll demanding explanations for the cuts.
“These reckless terminations threaten the health and safety of my constituents,” Simon wrote on Jan. 14. “I have heard directly from these affected grantees that these termination will disrupt residential treatment and recovery service for pregnant and postpartum women and will impact their children’s health and wellbeing.”