Trump cuts or freezes almost 10% of discretionary federal expenditure

Othe cuts, made since Republican President Donald Trump returned to the White House for a second presidential term in January 2025, and that, in dollars, amounted to 177 billion, affected the 50 federal states and the District of Columbia and focused mainly on the areas of health, nutrition, environment and disaster assistance, found the United States Democracy Center and Grant Witness organization.

Among the subsidies that have been eliminated, frozen or postponed, are those related to maternal health in Michigan, educational research in Mississippi and assistance to minority farmers in Iowa, the researchers indicated.

California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and North Carolina were the federal states where the largest volume of subsidies was cut, according to the monitoring tool called Lost Funds.

“By gathering information on thousands of Trump government funding cuts in a verified and publicly accessible database, Lost Funds highlights the magnitude of its impact,” said Scott Delaney, co-founder of Grant Witness, in a press release.

The amount of USD 177 billion (EUR 153 billion) represents almost 10% of discretionary federal expenditure, the investigating authorities said.

According to these, interruptions in the provision of subsidies went beyond the type of cut that usually occurs in government changes in the United States.

“Lost Funds reveals the extraordinary scale and true human impact of these interruptions, as well as the way states are once again at the forefront of protecting their inhabitants,” said U.S. research director United Democracy Center, Kelly Rader.

In some cases, the courts have decided against the cuts in subsidies made by the Federal Government.

The new monitoring tool, available for public use, is based on data from USASpending. Gov — an open source of data on federal expenditure —, following the methodology of the responsible groups, which indicated that the information will be regularly updated as the government takes further steps and legal proceedings proceed in the courts.

The United States Democracy Center is defined as a party group dedicated to the rule of law and to holding free, fair and secure elections.

The organization was co-founded by Norm Eisen (who abandoned it in 2021), a lawyer who participated in lawsuits of great impact against the Trump Government, including a case involving the Kennedy Center.

Grant Witness is a group that brings together scientists, researchers and lawyers who are documenting changes in government funding during Donald Trump's second presidential term (2025-2029).

A message requesting a comment on this review was sent by the American news agency The Associated Press (AP), to the White House, which has so far not sent a reply.