Originally published by The Alliance for Rights and Recovery on October 13, 2025. Additional reporting from Inside Health Policy, October 6, 2025.
Alliance Alert:cSources indicate that SAMHSA may be the first agency to roll into new “Administration for a Health America,” a move that would consolidate it with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health among others and cut their funding in the process. This would be despite Congress’ unwillingness to support such a move: several months ago, the bipartisan Appropriations Committee first response was to snub this plan by a 26-3 vote,in fact adding more funding for the agency. The Trump Administration has already cut SAMHSA’s grants office, government affairs and IT staff.
Shadow AHA Rumors Float Among Behavioral Health Advocates Anxious Over SAMHSA’s Future
Inside Health Policy October 06, 2025
Trump’s HHS is moving forward with its planned reorganization despite lack of congressional support, two sources familiar with the matter told Inside Health Policy, saying the leadership-less Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is becoming the first to roll into the new Administration for a Healthy America (AHA).
In fact, the lack of SAMHSA staff and an administrator led one source to conclude that in a way, AHA already exists.
When asked about rumors that the Trump administration is phasing out SAMHSA in order to create AHA, an HHS spokesperson referred IHP to the reorganization plans unveiled on March 27 and said, “This new entity will centralize and bolster SAMHSA’s and the other agencies’ grants, staff, and coordination of health resources for low-income Americans.”
HHS did not address claims that the administration has cut SAMHSA’s grants office, government affairs and IT staff.
And more cuts are potentially possible during the government shutdown, with the White House pledging to fire additional staff at government agencies and cut programs it doesn’t view as central to its agenda.
Stakeholders have known for months about HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan to fold SAMHSA along with other agencies into AHA. But despite the lack of congressional approval so far, Kennedy said in August the Trump administration would be moving forward with the reorganization.
The administration’s timing is surprising to behavioral health advocates who point out both the House’s and Senate’s HHS spending bills would continue to fund the SAMHSA grants that HHS has proposed to cut in the reorganization process.
Several sources have described SAMHSA as a “black hole” this year when it comes to communication — excluding the occasional press release, which recently included awards for a new hepatitis C elimination initiative and $45 million grant to support young adult sober housing services.
SAMHSA has also come under recent scrutiny from stakeholders due to the administration’s new strategic priorities that emphasize punishment and civil commitment and concerns that HHS has redirected or withheld $950 million in critical behavioral health grants.
On staffing, one source told IHP many SAMHSA employees have left and stakeholders are concerned the few people left seem to be prohibited from publicly speaking, which will limit the agency’s education efforts. — Dorothy Mills-
This article was adapted from publicly available reporting by The Alliance for Rights and Recovery and Inside Health Policy. All credit for original reporting and analysis belongs to the respective authors and publishers. This summary was prepared by Faebl Studios for educational and informational purposes only.