Tracker Puts Trump-Era Grant Cuts at $177 Billion Across All States
A new tracking tool estimates up to $177 billion in federal grants have been cut or frozen under the Trump administration, hitting all 50 states and D.C.
Federal grants worth as much as $177 billion have been cut, frozen or delayed since President Donald Trump began his second term, according to a tracking tool launched Wednesday by a pro-democracy nonprofit and a group of researchers and scientists.
The disruptions reach every state and the District of Columbia, with health, nutrition, environmental and disaster-relief programs accounting for the largest share, the States United Democracy Center and Grant Witness found. The figure amounts to nearly 10% of federal discretionary spending, the groups said.
The publicly accessible database, called Lost Funds, draws on data from USASpending.gov, an open source of federal spending information. Its organizers said it would be updated as new actions are taken and as litigation moves through the courts.
Examples cited by the researchers include maternal health grants in Michigan, education research funding in Mississippi and assistance for minority farmers in Iowa. California, Texas, New York, Illinois and North Carolina recorded the highest amounts of interrupted grant money.
"By bringing thousands of funding disruptions from the Trump administration together in a publicly accessible, verified database, Lost Funds puts the magnitude of their impact on full display," said Scott Delaney, co-founder of Grant Witness.
Kelly Rader, research director at the States United Democracy Center, said the tracker shows "the extraordinary scale and real human impact of these disruptions, and how states are once again on the front lines protecting their residents."
The organizers said the interrupted grants go beyond the kind of funding changes that typically accompany a change of administration. In some instances, courts have ruled against the administration's grant funding cuts.
States United describes itself as a nonpartisan group focused on the rule of law and free, fair and secure elections. It was co-founded by Norm Eisen, an attorney involved in prominent lawsuits against the Trump administration, including one concerning the Kennedy Center. Grant Witness is made up of scientists, researchers and attorneys who document how funding is changing under the current administration.