WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) canceled more than 100 research grants collectively worth over $250 million, halting critical health studies across 30 states. The cancellations followed mass staff reductions during the second Trump administration that removed an estimated 75 percent of the agency's workforce.

In July, the AHRQ sent grant cancellation letters to approximately 150 researchers. The agency has spent less than $15 million of its appropriated funds on grants despite Congress appropriating $345 million for the AHRQ for the 2026 fiscal year.

Scientists across more than 30 states have halted research, laid off staff, shut down programs, or stopped pursuing new lines of research due to the cancellations. The disrupted programs included studies on training rural healthcare workers to handle maternal medical emergencies in Connecticut and improving access to home dialysis in New York.

Other canceled initiatives involved reducing risks of patient falls in rural hospitals in Colorado and reducing overuse of antibiotics in Utah. Researchers also lost funding for studies on improving autism screening and care for Black children in North Carolina and improving chronic pain management to reduce reliance on opioids in Virginia. A study testing the use of artificial intelligence to improve the experience of hospitalized children and their families in Wisconsin was among those terminated.

Thirty Democratic senators sent a letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demanding the rescission of AHRQ grant cancellations. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Tammy Baldwin led the letter along with 28 colleagues. The senators gave Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. until August 25 to respond to their letter.

Blumenthal said he and the other senators were expressing profound concern and unequivocal opposition to the recent mass cancellations of lifesaving health research grants from AHRQ, as well as the year-long refusal to faithfully execute the fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2026 appropriations laws. He said they demanded that the health secretary immediately rescind the cancellations and ensure that the funding Congress appropriates to AHRQ is invested in health research in accordance with the law.

Health policy experts Aaron Carroll and David Atkins wrote in an opinion piece published in the Annals of Internal Medicine that whether the AHRQ will survive the second Trump administration is an open question. Carroll, who is the president and CEO of AcademyHealth, noted the long-term consequences of the cuts.

Why It Matters

The cancellation of more than 100 research grants worth over $250 million represents a reduction in federally funded health services research. The disruption affects nearly 200 different research programs across nearly 30 states, impacting areas such as patient safety, healthcare delivery, and health outcomes for Americans. The scale of the cancellations creates uncertainty about the future execution of congressional appropriations for health research.

The AHRQ has historically played a role in enhancing the quality and effectiveness of health care services through research and guidelines. With an estimated 75 percent of its staff fired or retired during the second Trump administration, the agency's capacity to carry out its statutory mission has been substantially reduced. The response from Democratic senators and health policy experts reflects the tension between executive branch reorganization efforts and legislative funding directives.

What's New

On April 1, the Trump administration slashed the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and fired roughly half of its remaining employees as part of a reorganization of the federal Health and Human Services Department. This reporting provides additional context on the timeline of staff reductions preceding the grant cancellations.

Blumenthal said the senators were expressing profound concern and unequivocal opposition to the recent mass cancellations of lifesaving health research grants from AHRQ, and the year-long refusal to faithfully execute the fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2026 appropriations laws. The letter shows the legislative perspective on the agency's failure to spend appropriated funds.

He said the unprecedented action had led to the disruption of nearly 200 different research programs across nearly 30 states and undermined decades of taxpayer investments to improve healthcare delivery, patient safety, and health outcomes for all Americans. This statement quantifies the scope of the disruption in terms of research programs and geographic reach.

Canceled research programs included studies on testing the use of artificial intelligence to improve the experience of hospitalized children and their families in Wisconsin. This detail illustrates the range of topics affected by the funding cuts, including technology integration in pediatric care.

United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is a United States federal agency division that supports research to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. This description clarifies the agency's federal role and mission scope.

Research titled Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) was published in 2008 in Encyclopedia of Global Health. This reference provides historical context on the agency's recognition in global health literature.

How Sources Differ

Sources differ on the specifics of the AHRQ's identity and history. The Encyclopedia of Global Health notes that research titled Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) was published in 2008 in Encyclopedia of Global Health. In contrast, other reports state that on April 1, the Trump administration slashed the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and fired roughly half of its remaining employees as part of a reorganization of the federal Health and Human Services Department.

There are differing accounts of the impact on research programs. He said the unprecedented action had led to the disruption of nearly 200 different research programs across nearly 30 states and undermined decades of taxpayer investments to improve healthcare delivery, patient safety, and health outcomes for all Americans. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality impact assessment reports that scientists across more than 30 states have halted research, laid off staff, shut down programs, or stopped pursuing new lines of research due to the cancellations.

Sources vary in their description of the agency's focus. He said the action undermined decades of taxpayer investments to improve healthcare delivery, patient safety, and health outcomes for all Americans. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality mission statement indicates that the AHRQ has focused on patient safety, healthcare quality, care delivery, and new technologies and practices since the 1990s.

Descriptions of the agency's role also differ. Blumenthal emphasized the disruption of programs intended to improve healthcare delivery, patient safety, and health outcomes. The federalregister.gov source describes the United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality as a United States federal agency division that supports research to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans.

Reports on the extent of staff cuts present conflicting figures. One account states that on April 1, the Trump administration slashed the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and fired roughly half of its remaining employees as part of a reorganization of the federal Health and Human Services Department. Department of Government Efficiency personnel records indicate that during the second Trump administration, Department of Government Efficiency cuts resulted in the firing or retirement of an estimated 75 percent of the AHRQ's staff.