Baldwin Calls Out Trump Admin for Abruptly Canceling $94 Million for Health Research, Halting Clinical Trials » Urban Milwaukee
Press Release
Baldwin Calls Out Trump Admin for Abruptly Canceling $94 Million for Health Research, Halting Clinical Trials
Erratic cuts include a Wisconsin project to improve experiences of hospitalized kids that HHS previously highlighted
By
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin – Jul 24th, 2026 12:30 pm
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education, blasted the Trump Administration for abruptly canceling $94 million in funding for 150 grants supporting health research and programs to train the next generations of scientists. As a result of these erratic cuts to grants funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), clinical trials, health research, and training programs for researchers have ended. The grants include helping doctors catch lung cancer earlier, keeping babies and new mothers safe during childbirth, and using telehealth to improve access to care in rural communities. Canceling funding in the middle of these multi-year research projects wastes years of prior work and millions of taxpayer dollars.
“Once again, Donald Trump and RFK, Jr. are cutting groundbreaking research all to play petty politics—it’s sowing chaos and taking away chances to improve Americans’ health and well-being. We are talking about helping kids in hospitals, improving telehealth in rural parts of America, and stopping lung cancer from plaguing more Americans – but this administration is saying that is not a priority for them,” said Senator Baldwin. “American families want lower costs and to live healthy lives, but this administration isn’t listening. I will continue to use every lever I have to stand up to this chaos, support our Wisconsin scientists, and fight to make sure families can lead healthy lives.”
Included in the abrupt cancelations is a University of Wisconsin project testing the use of artificial intelligence to improve the experiences of hospitalized children and their families. Prior to canceling the funding, the Trump Administration highlighted this specific program in a webinar on innovations to better deliver high-value pediatric care. A month later, HHS terminated the grant for being “inconsistent with agency priorities.” In a Senate Appropriations hearing with Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in April, Senator Baldwin shined a light on the absurdity of the administration holding up funding for this program earlier in the year, despite the Administration itself using it as a poster child for innovative work. Baldwin also demanded answers from AHRQ Director Dr. Roger Klein on the chaos and mismanagement at AHRQ during a private call in June. AHRQ is the only federal agency focused on studying how to improve health care delivery. In addition to terminating these grants, since Trump took office, the agency has failed to fund new research projects, left grantees in the dark, and allowed over $80 million in funding to lapse.
Senator Baldwin has been a leading voice in pushing back against cuts to critical health funding. Earlier this year, Senator Baldwin called out the administration for canceling $600 million in grants that were aimed at stopping the spread of HIV, connecting people to affordable health care, and growing the health care workforce. Baldwin also spoke out against the abrupt canceling, then reinstating, of $2 billion in funding for thousands of programs that support mental health and addiction treatment and prevention. As Ranking Member on the LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Baldwin also fought for and successfully included provisions to put up stronger guardrails to ensure funding for Fiscal Year 2026 is spent as Congress intended and without delay.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness
Mentioned in This Press Release
People: Donald Trump, Tammy Baldwin
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