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Health Care
Health Care
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PRESENTED BY
The Big Story
Trump administration to shutter LGBTQ+ youth suicide hotline
The Trump administration has given a crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth 30 days to shut down and stakeholders as well as lawmakers are speaking out against the move.
© The Associated Press
While the White House had signaled earlier this year that it would no longer fund the LGBTQ youth service, “Press 3 option,” of the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline starting in 2026, it had said funding for the rest of this year would remain unchanged.
But the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced Tuesday it would “no longer silo” the program.
“The Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus included a Congressional directive for $29.7 million to fund the specialized service,” the agency said in a statement.
“Federal funding in FY24 for the Press 3 services increased to $33 million. As of June 2025, more than $33 million in funds have been spent to support the subnetworks, fully expending the monies allocated for 988 Lifeline LGB+ subnetwork services.”
The Health Department’s annual budget “does not, however, grant taxpayer money to a chat service where children are encouraged to embrace radical gender ideology by ‘counselors’ without consent or knowledge of their parents,” said Rachel Cauley, a spokesperson for the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.
The Trevor Project, which responds to roughly half of 988 calls and texts from LGBTQ+ youth, said it had received a stop-work order from the Trump administration.
“This is devastating, to say the least. Suicide prevention is about people, not politics,” said Jaymes Black, the Trevor Project’s CEO. “The administration’s decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible.”
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler (N.Y.) also spoke out against the move, saying on Wednesday, “This is wrong,” adding that “the 988 hotline has been a lifesaver.”
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.
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Essential Reads
How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:
Democratic leaders and professional medical organizations on Wednesday denounced the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding a 2023 Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, a decision the high court delivered along ideological lines that stands to impact similar laws passed in roughly half the country. The high court’s three Democratic-appointed justices dissented with the conservative majority. Justice Sonia …
Pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences announced Wednesday the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its six-month, twice-yearly HIV PrEP injection, which was found in trials to be more than 99.9 percent effective among participants. Gilead’s product Yeztugo, a form of lenacapavir, was approved for reducing the risk of sexually acquired HIV in adults and adolescents when injected twice a year. Lenacapavir is …
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said Wednesday that the Trump administration’s decision to cut the LGBTQ youth suicide hotline is “wrong.” “This is wrong. According to studies, LGBTQ+ young people have an elevated risk of suicide and are more likely than their peers to attempt it. We should ensure they have the resources necessary to get help,” Lawler said in a post on social platform X. “The 988 hotline has been a lifesaver. …
In Other News
Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
Obama: US ‘dangerously close’ to moving toward autocracy
Former President Obama warned on Tuesday the current political climate isn’t “consistent” with American democracy. “It is consistent with autocracies,” Obama told a crowd in Hartford, Conn., where he spoke about the growing threat posed under the Trump administration, according to Connecticut Public Radio.
A MESSAGE FROM ALLIANCE FOR AGING RESEARCH
Around the Nation
Local and state headlines on health care:
Missouri abortion ban ballot initiative could permanently bar care for transgender minors (STLPR)
A California county may lose its only hospital. How a dispute over roads is endangering it (Cal Matters)
Old grocery store turned into behavioral health campus in south Kansas City (41 KSHB)
What We’re Reading
Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:
Real risk to youth mental health is ‘addictive use,’ not screen time alone, study finds (The New York Times)
U.S. drug overdose deaths rise again after hopeful decline (NPR)
As GOP eyes ACA cuts, a conservative group highlights rampant fraud (The Washington Post)
What Others are Reading
Most read stories on The Hill right now:
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is facing strong pushback from members of the GOP conference over the Finance Committee’s piece of … Read more
Pundit Tucker Carlson published a nearly two-hour interview with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Wednesday, during which the two conservative firebrands … Read more
What People Think
Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill:
Food addiction is not a political issue: Leave it to the scientists and clinicians
Smart budget cuts at the VA could help preserve critical services
You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow!