Seyit Kurt
15 January 2026•Update: 15 January 2026
ISTANBUL
The US has reversed a decision to terminate nearly $2 billion in federal funding for mental health and addiction services, restoring grants less than a day after more than 2,000 programs nationwide were told their funding would end immediately, according to media reports.
An administration official confirmed late Wednesday that the funds were restored but did not explain the decision. The move followed intense bipartisan pressure from lawmakers, including a letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that was signed by about 100 members of the US House of Representatives, according to The New York Times.
The funding termination notices were issued Tuesday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in a form letter, saying only that the services no longer aligned with the agency’s priorities, including “innovative programs and interventions that address the rising rates of mental illness and substance abuse conditions, overdose, and suicide.”
The cuts would have taken effect immediately.
Lawmakers said the move conflicted with congressional authority over spending, as under the US Constitution, Congress is supposed to have the “power of the purse.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said the episode created “uncertainty and confusion” for families and health care providers and emphasized that Congress controls federal spending.
Several organizations reported abrupt losses before the reversal, including treatment providers, emergency medical services groups, and national mental health and addiction organizations.
Some grants were tied to programs reauthorized under the SUPPORT Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law in December.
Since returning to the White House last January, Trump has taken an aggressive approach to cutting government programs, laying off thousands of workers and canceling long-standing programs with little or no notice, despite money already appropriated.
In many cases – such as workers maintaining the US nuclear weapons arsenal, last March – workers have been fired followed by efforts to quickly rehire them, apparently after it became clear how important their jobs were.
Critics have blasted the approach, saying it was done with no planning or understanding, and undermined vital government functions.
After spending most of 2025 approving Trump’s funding priorities without question, some congressional Republicans have started to buck the president, restoring funds to science and health programs that Trump targeted for elimination.
