Trump Administration Cancels $66M in Teen Pregnancy Prevention Grants

The Trump administration has abruptly canceled 53 out of 67 federal grants under the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program, cutting approximately $66 million in funding that supported community organizations, public health departments, and universities across more than two dozen states. The decision, carried out by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in late June, has forced program closures and layoffs while triggering bipartisan congressional backlash.

Background

Established in 2010 under the Affordable Care Act, the TPP Program was designed to fund evidence-based programs proven through rigorous evaluation — including randomized controlled trials — to reduce teen pregnancy and associated risk behaviors. The five-year grants had two years remaining when HHS terminated them, citing “Misalignment with agency priority, specifically normalizing sexual activity for minors.”

The cancellations follow a July 2025 HHS policy notice requiring grantees to comply with five Trump executive orders addressing gender ideology, parental oversight, and what the administration termed “discriminatory equity ideology.” Organizations that spent months adapting their curricula to meet these requirements were subsequently terminated anyway.

Impact on Communities

Ginger Mullaney, President and CEO of Healthy Futures of Texas, told NPR her organization lost its $2 million annual grant despite having its adapted programs approved as recently as November. “I’m frustrated that these are lives that were being changed — there’s generational impact and social and economic mobility for our communities using programs that are proven and demonstrated to be effective,” she said. The funding cut means 13 employees are losing their jobs.

In the Navajo Nation, a LiFT workshop run by Hózhǫ́ Horizons — part of the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health — has been canceled. Paige Preston, 18, who attended the workshop and was set to volunteer as a peer leader, described the program’s importance for Indigenous communities. “When you participate and you learn from people like you — like in Indigenous communities — that means a lot more because it’s showing you that someone like you is so knowledgeable about a subject,” she told NPR.

The cancellations disproportionately affect communities with the highest teen pregnancy rates. According to the CDC, American Indian and Alaska Native teens have the highest pregnancy rate among racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

Political and Legal Dynamics

President Trump signed $101 million in TPP funding into law earlier this year as part of FY2026 appropriations, yet his FY2027 budget request called for eliminating the program entirely, arguing there is “no evidence that these specific programs have contributed to this historic decline in teen pregnancy.” The administration has also opened new funding streams totaling $71.1 million for programs more aligned with its priorities, according to EWTN News.

More than 79 House Democrats, led by Reps. Judy Chu (D-CA) and Kelly Morrison (D-MN), sent a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demanding reinstatement of the grants. Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), sent a similar letter with 17 co-signers, as reported by The Hill.

Historical Precedent

This is not the first time the Trump administration has targeted the TPP Program. During Trump’s first term, all TPP grants were canceled, but funding was restored after grantees successfully sued. The current cancellations raise similar legal questions about whether HHS has the authority to unilaterally terminate congressionally appropriated funds mid-cycle.

Analysis and Implications

Nicholas Mark, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin Madison who studies the program, called the administration’s justification “bizarre.” “In a world where teens have smartphones, teens are surrounded by sex and such easy access to sex and sexual imagery, sexual iconography,” he told NPR. “It seems silly to think that having a source of verifiable, trusted information on safe sex would be worse than the information environment that people are already steeped in.”

The U.S. teen birth rate has declined dramatically since the 1990s but remains higher than in other developed countries. Teen childbearing is associated with lower high school graduation rates, lower lifetime earnings, and an estimated $9 billion annually in taxpayer costs, according to HHS research.

What’s Next

HHS did not respond to NPR’s multiple requests for comment on why the grants were canceled. Legal challenges are widely anticipated, and Democratic lawmakers continue to press for reinstatement. The broader question — whether the executive branch can refuse to spend funds explicitly appropriated by Congress — remains a recurring constitutional tension that may ultimately be decided in court.

Reporting contributed by Selena Simmons-Duffin of NPR.