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When Elizabeth Woike saw news reports that nearly $2 billion had been earmarked for the project, she was cautiously optimistic. trump card The administration, which had withdrawn from substance abuse and mental health programs across the country the day before, may be reinstated.
Then, at 2 a.m. Thursday, she received an email from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reaffirming the cuts — and she didn’t know what to think.
“I just shook my head. It was chaos,” said Woick, CEO of BestSelf Behavioral Health, a provider of mental health and substance use disorder treatment in Buffalo. New York. It turns out that the second termination letter was sent in error. Late Thursday morning, she and about 2,000 other grant recipients across the country were notified that their federal funding had indeed been restored.
The whiplash Woick has felt over the past two days is an experience shared by health care providers, state health agencies and medical facilities. American They received services during a period when the Trump administration canceled and then abruptly reinstated grants that supported some of America’s most vulnerable populations.
It builds on what program leaders say is a pattern of uncertainty from this administration, which has repeatedly canceled millions of dollars in federal funding without notice and sometimes changed decisions about which projects will be covered and which won’t. Voick said this instability prevents organizations like hers from making long-term plans.
“No one is thinking about expansion or really trying to enhance services to meet the needs of the community,” she said. “Everyone is tightening their belts and thinking about setting aside every penny and every resource.”
Trump administration surprises recipients
The government first notified grant recipients via email on Tuesday night that their funding would be withdrawn, according to copies received by the organizations and reviewed by The Associated Press.
Some organizations told The Associated Press on Wednesday that they are already making difficult decisions in response to layoffs, including layoffs and canceling scheduled training.
By Wednesday evening, news reports suggested the cuts might be reversed, but grant recipients had not yet been notified of the change. Some of them said they received confusing emails overnight that repeated termination notices or instructed them how to stop funding within 30 days.
As late as Thursday morning, grant recipients began receiving form emails saying the grant termination was “hereby revoked.”
Even so, not everyone can rest easy. Sarah Howe, CEO of the North Carolina Association of Addiction Professionals, said members of her professional association are still nervous about whether their funding is guaranteed.
“Any time something like this happens, you’re put in a situation like: Can you still breathe?” Howe said. “It leaves everyone in a very precarious, precarious position.”
An administration official familiar with the decision, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, confirmed the funding had been reinstated but did not say why. A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services did not answer questions about the administration’s reasoning and declined to comment on the confusion caused by the situation.
democrats criticize the government
Democratic lawmakers are furious at the uncertainty and pressure the Trump administration has created by cutting funding and then suddenly changing course.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee, said Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision-making was dangerous and haphazard after grant recipients began cutting staff as planned.
“He must be cautious when making decisions that affect the health of Americans,” DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement. “I hope this reversal serves as a lesson.”
Democratic Senator. Tammy Baldwin The Wisconsin governor told The Associated Press in a statement that the incident “has caused chaos and real harm to Americans — and now they need to speak out and give their families some answers as to why they caused this chaos.”
Suppliers say they are working to undo changes they have already made in response to the cuts. Honest Liller, CEO of the Maxine Foundation, a peer support group in Richmond, Virginia, said she is working on the logistics for five laid-off employees to return to work.
Ryan Hampton, founder of the nonprofit advocacy group Mobilize Recovery, said he was relieved that funding for his organization and others had been restored, but he criticized the government for jeopardizing life-saving services in the first place.
“Reinstating these grants is the only acceptable outcome, but the disruption caused to frontline providers and families over the past 24 hours is inexcusable,” he said. “We cannot normalize a political environment in which overdose prevention and recovery are viewed as leverage.”