The Trump administration plans to slash annual discretionary spending at the US federal health department by around one-third, or $40 billion, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing a draft budget document.
A preliminary financial plan that would still require approval by Congress, the framework for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) comes amid massive cuts to the government under Donald Trump and his top advisor, billionaire Elon Musk.
The $40 billion of cuts proposed for 2026 would slash deeply into the $121 billion approved by Congress in 2024.
This “discretionary spending” is vastly outweighed by hundreds of billions in mandatory outlays, especially on public health insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid, which bring the total HHS budget to around $1.8 trillion.
Massive restructuring had already been announced in March for the HHS, slashing about a quarter of its staff.বিস্তারিত