Trump Budget Axes Disability Programs, Funnels Money to Military

President Donald Trump wants to eliminate federal funding for university centers on developmental disabilities, multiple special education programs, and voting access initiatives for people with disabilities. His budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2026 proposes steep cuts to domestic programs while dramatically increasing military spending.

"It's not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things," Trump said before releasing the budget. "They can do it on a state basis. You can't do it on a federal. We have to take care of one thing: military protection."

Closing the Administration for Community Living

The White House plan would shutter the Administration for Community Living, the federal agency overseeing programs that help people with disabilities. Most of its functions would be absorbed into the Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children, Families and Communities.

The budget zeroes out funding for Developmental Disabilities Projects of National Significance, University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, and Voting Access for Individuals with Disabilities. These programs provide research, training, technical assistance, and direct support that advocates say cannot be easily replaced.

"While the budget frames these changes as streamlining and increasing flexibility, eliminating targeted programs risks dismantling critical infrastructure," said Delancy Allred, public policy manager at the Autism Society of America. "Without dedicated funding, essential supports such as early intervention, workforce development and access to civic participation could be reduced or lost, especially in underserved and rural communities."

Special Education Programs on the Chopping Block

Trump also wants to consolidate funding for several programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). His budget would eliminate separate line items for preschool grants, state personnel development, technical assistance, personnel preparation, and parent information centers. Instead, funding for these efforts would be folded into broader grants distributed to states under IDEA Part B.

The White House claims this "represents a historic investment in IDEA and reflects the administration's goal to return education to the states by streamlining funding and expanding flexibility." But disability advocates point out that the changes would require Congress to modify IDEA itself.

"Eliminating preschool funds and IDEA programs would have a serious negative impact on students with disabilities, schools and states," said Stephanie Smith Lee, co-director of policy and advocacy at the National Down Syndrome Congress, who served as director of the Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs under President George W. Bush. "Congress recently soundly rejected this proposal in the FY 2026 appropriations bill on a bipartisan basis."

Vocational Rehabilitation Gutted

The budget proposal also targets vocational rehabilitation programs. Trump wants to eliminate grants for supported employment, client assistance, training, and a protection and advocacy program designed to ensure the legal rights of individuals with disabilities. The administration says states could choose to use vocational rehabilitation state grants for such purposes instead, but provides no guarantee they will.

One program would see an increase: Centers for Independent Living would get an extra $100 million. The White House suggests states could use these added funds to continue programs facing cuts, but advocates are skeptical that a single funding stream can replace the specialized infrastructure being dismantled.

A Pattern of Attacks

This budget proposal largely mirrors the request Trump submitted last year for disability programs. Congress broadly rejected that plan on a bipartisan basis. The fact that Trump is pushing the same cuts again reveals his administration's priorities.

"While the president's budget is ultimately a statement of priorities and does not have the force of law, it sends a clear signal about the values of the Trump administration," said Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities.

"The proposal is extremely concerning because it targets the very infrastructure that people with disabilities and their families rely on every day," Town said. "Programs like University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and Projects of National Significance drive innovation, train the workforce and help states deliver effective supports. Eliminating them would weaken the system at its core."

Town added that cutting investments in special education personnel, technical assistance, and parent information centers would leave families with fewer resources to navigate complex systems and fewer qualified professionals to provide services.

"These are not abstract cuts," she said. "They would directly impact whether people with disabilities can learn, work and live independently in their communities."

The budget now goes to Congress, where lawmakers will decide whether to fund Trump's vision of gutting disability programs to pay for military expansion. Based on last year's bipartisan rejection of similar proposals, disability advocates are hoping Congress will once again refuse to balance the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable Americans.