The cuts caused an uproar among grantees and Democrats on Capitol Hill.
The Department of Health and Human Services has reinstated nearly 3,000 substance use disorder and mental health services grants worth nearly $2 billion a day after terminating them, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.
The cuts targeted discretionary grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an HHS agency, and included youth overdose prevention and medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder, among other things.
Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement late Wednesday that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had reinstated the grants.
“Congress holds the power of the purse, and the Secretary must follow the law,” she said, adding that the cuts would have eliminated programs that save lives.
An administration official and a congressional aide, both granted anonymity to discuss internal matters, confirmed the reinstatement of the grants.
A bipartisan group of 100 House members wrote to Kennedy on Wednesday asking for more information about the terminations.
A day after cutting them, HHS reinstates billions in substance abuse and metal health grants
PoliticoPro
January 15, 2026 9:10 am
The cuts caused an uproar among grantees and Democrats on Capitol Hill.
The Department of Health and Human Services has reinstated nearly 3,000 substance use disorder and mental health services grants worth nearly $2 billion a day after terminating them, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.
The cuts targeted discretionary grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an HHS agency, and included youth overdose prevention and medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder, among other things.
Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement late Wednesday that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had reinstated the grants.
“Congress holds the power of the purse, and the Secretary must follow the law,” she said, adding that the cuts would have eliminated programs that save lives.
An administration official and a congressional aide, both granted anonymity to discuss internal matters, confirmed the reinstatement of the grants.
A bipartisan group of 100 House members wrote to Kennedy on Wednesday asking for more information about the terminations.