There are more than 44 million disabled people in the US, representing roughly 14 percent of the population, according to the US Census Bureau.
Under federal law, these Americans have a right to live, work, and learn in their communities. But disabled people are still twice as likely to live in poverty (PDF) as nondisabled people, and they face added challenges accessing housing, health care, employment, and educational supports.
For the past 60 years, federal programs and safety net benefits have helped communities across the country address these challenges and ensure disabled people can fully participate in their communities. However, recent actions and proposals by the Trump administration and congressional Republican leaders to cut critical programs, or the staff that administer them, put many of the services that disabled people rely on at risk.
Here are seven ways cuts and proposed changes to federal agencies and safety net programs will make it more difficult for disabled people to live dignified lives in their communities.
Significant staffing reductions have weakened the US Department of Education’s (ED’s) ability to protect disabled students’ right to a free, public education.
ED is critical to enforcing civil rights laws that protect disabled students from discrimination and ensure they receive the educational supports they need to succeed. Last year, ED distributed more than $15 billion in congressionally mandated funding to states to help them pay for these supports.
Recent efforts by the Trump administration to close ED will have devastating effects on the more than 7.5 million students across the US with an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The administration has reduced staffing across the agency by almost half, and eliminated 40 percent of the staff at the agency’s Office of Civil Rights, which processes complaints of education-related discrimination.
Recent reporting suggests these cuts are already limiting parents’ access to recourse if their child’s right to a free, publication education has been violated.
The elimination of a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) office that oversees community living programs puts disabled and older Americans’ right to live in their communities—instead of institutions—at risk.
In 2022, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) provided more than 261 million meals to older adults through programs like Meals on Wheels, assistance such as respite care to more than 1.5 million family caregivers, and independent-living services to nearly 250,000 people with disabilities.
Now, as part of the agency’s reorganization, about half of the ACL’s staff of 200 were laid off. In addition, ACL programs will be split up among three different HHS offices, which will make these programs more difficult to efficiently and effectively administer.
Dismantling the ACL will likely make it more difficult for communities to provide disabled people and older adults with the supports they need to live and age in their communities, increasing their risk of institutionalization and food insecurity. It would also disrupt services to the more than 1 in 5 Americans who serve as informal caregivers (PDF) to a loved one, making them more vulnerable to declines in physical and mental health.
Downsizing staff at the Social Security Administration would leave disabled people waiting even longer for life-saving benefits.
Since 2020, the wait time for Social Security disability benefits has doubled, as a shortage of trained staff has increased the number of pending claims. On average, applicants for disability benefits currently wait seven months for an initial eligibility determination.
This delay in benefits puts people with disabilities at risk of serious negative health and financial outcomes. Without it, potential beneficiaries may struggle to pay bills, buy groceries, and stay out of poverty.
Though SSA has a backlog of claims on track to exceed 2 million beneficiaries (PDF), the agency says it plans to cut more than 12 percent of its staff. An estimated 3,000 staff have already taken voluntary leave or have been laid off.
Congress is weighing Medicaid work requirements that would threaten disabled people’s access to health care.
On April 10, the House adopted a budget blueprint that tasks the committee overseeing Medicaid—which provides health care coverage to millions of adults with low incomes and disabilities—with cutting $880 billion in spending.
To reach that target, some members of Congress are considering changes to Medicaid that would require some recipients to work and report their hours. However, most Medicaid expansion enrollees ages 19 to 55 who would be subject to a federal work requirement already work or would meet the exemption criteria, such as being a caregiver.
If federal work requirements were mandated, a recent Urban Institute analysis estimates 4.6–5.2 million Medicaid expansion enrollees ages 19 to 55 would lose Medicaid (based on patterns in states that have previously implemented work requirements). Even if Medicaid work requirements exempted some people with disabilities, enrollees with disabilities could face the added burden of obtaining documentation to prove they are unable to work. Research shows disabled people often face difficulties obtaining this type of certification from medical professionals, which can ultimately lead to coverage loss.
Reduced federal funding for Medicaid could also lead states to cut services that the federal programs have deemed optional. This includes the home- and community-based services that millions of disabled and older people rely on to stay in their own homes and communities.
Proposed cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits would put disabled people and their families at greater risk of food insecurity and chronic disease.
Households that include someone with a disability can be up to three times more likely to struggle with food insecurity than households without a disabled member. This puts disabled people and their families at risk of poor health outcomes and chronic disease.
SNAP is a proven way to reduce food insecurity. However, to meet the spending levels outlined in their budget resolution, congressional Republicans will likely have to make deep cuts to SNAP benefits, such as drastically reducing benefit levels. This budget blueprint, which has been endorsed by President Trump, would make it even harder for disabled people and their families to afford food following years of rising food prices.
Staffing and funding reductions at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would make it even more difficult for disabled people to find affordable and accessible housing.
The Trump administration’s proposals to reduce HUD staffing by half, close agency field offices, and reduce funding for HUD programs will likely have an outsize effect on disabled people at a time when the need for affordable, accessible housing is growing. The administration’s latest budget proposals call for deep cuts to rental assistance and will make it more difficult to administer housing assistance effectively.
Ultimately, these cuts would weaken supports that help disabled people live in their own communities, putting more disabled adults at risk of institutionalization, homelessness, illness, and mortality.
Dismantling the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would leave disabled people even more vulnerable to environmental disasters.
People with disabilities are especially vulnerable to adverse health and economic outcomes during and after environmental disasters, which are increasingly more common, intense, and costly. During the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, disabled people suffered disproportionate consequences. Unfortunately, disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts don’t always meet the needs of people with disabilities, putting them at risk of negative health consequences and institutionalization.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has considered dismantling FEMA and, in March, he signed an executive order suggesting states play a larger role in disaster response. These changes could strain state budgets and leave disabled people at even greater risk for harm from environmental disasters and with even fewer options for adequate and affordable postdisaster housing.
Combined with the downsizing of ED and reorganization of the ACL, these proposed changes would significantly weaken disabled people’s right to participate in public life. The loss of these critical housing, health care, educational, and other supports would not only affect disabled people’s health and well-being but also their families and caregivers.
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