Lawmakers and experts decry AHRQ dismantling as Trump administration slashes healthcare research funding
Despite Congress appropriating $345 million for the 2026 fiscal year, only $15 million has been allocated to grants, prompting an ultimatum for the Health Department to reinstate funding by 25 August.
Thirty Democratic senators and leading health policy experts have formally accused Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr of sabotaging the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), citing mass staff reductions and the abrupt cancellation of critical research grants. The coalition describes the Trump administration’s actions as an outrageous abuse of administrative power that threatens public health outcomes across the United States.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which has focused on improving patient safety, care delivery, and healthcare technologies since the 1990s, has seen its workforce reduced by approximately 75 per cent through firings and retirements. This contraction follows directives from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) during the second Trump administration, leaving the agency on the brink of operational collapse, according to health policy experts Aaron Carroll and David Atkins.
In an opinion piece published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Carroll and Atkins warned that the survival of the agency under the current administration is uncertain. They noted that while Republican leaders historically viewed healthcare disparities as fundamental quality problems, the issue has become increasingly partisan. The experts emphasised that the current dismantling of research infrastructure represents a significant loss for the next generation of health services researchers.
The financial impact of these cuts is stark. Although Congress appropriated $345 million for the 2026 fiscal year, only $15 million has been allocated to grants to date. In July, the AHRQ sent cancellation letters to approximately 150 researchers, nullifying over 100 grants collectively valued at more than $250 million. Scientists across more than 30 states have subsequently halted research, laid off staff, and shut down programs in response to the uncertainty.
The Democratic senators highlighted several specific programmes that were axed, including studies on maternal emergencies in Connecticut, home dialysis access in New York, patient fall risks in Colorado, antibiotic overuse in Utah, autism screening for Black children in North Carolina, and chronic pain management in Virginia. The senators argued that the grants were cancelled via form letters containing contradictory explanations and incorrect citations, defying the explicit legislative instruction to invest appropriated funds in life-saving research.
The health department under Kennedy has previously defended the cuts, but the senators issued a firm ultimatum for a response by 25 August. They demanded the immediate rescission of the cancellations and the faithful support of research aimed at improving access and health outcomes for Americans, stating that the appropriated funds were not discretionary suggestions for the department to ignore.
