Analysis Reveals Trump Administration Has Frozen or Cut $177 Billion in Federal Grants Across the Nation

Federal grant programs across the United States have experienced unprecedented disruption during President Donald Trump’s second term, with up to $177 billion in funding either halted, delayed, or entirely eliminated, according to a comprehensive tracking database published on Wednesday.

The extensive analysis, developed jointly by the pro-democracy organization States United Democracy Center and the research collective Grant Witness, provides a detailed catalog of the administration’s funding freezes. The findings illustrate a sweeping reduction in federal resources that reaches into every corner of the country.

Every single jurisdiction in the nation has been touched by these spending decisions, with grant freezes and cancellations recorded across all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia. Federal initiatives designed to support local communities, scientific research, and public assistance have seen their resources withheld or suspended.

According to the analysis, the heaviest concentrations of eliminated or withheld funds are centered in key public service sectors. Programs focused on public health initiatives, nutritional support services, environmental protection projects, and emergency disaster assistance constitute the vast majority of the suspended funding.

The practical consequences of the funding freeze encompass a wide variety of localized public welfare and development projects. Among the specific efforts that have seen their federal resources cancelled, frozen, or subjected to severe delays are maternal healthcare programs operating in Michigan, academic and educational research efforts in Mississippi, and federal assistance targeted to minority agricultural producers in Iowa.

While the funding halts have touched every state, the overall financial impact is heavily concentrated in several large population centers. According to the data, California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and North Carolina have recorded the largest absolute amounts of disrupted grant funding among all states.

To capture the full scope of these measures, the collaborating organizations launched a publicly accessible digital tracking platform dubbed "Lost Funds." The platform was designed to assemble disparate funding freezes and grant cancellations into a single, centralized database for the public, state officials, and researchers.

In their financial assessment, the researchers emphasized that the $177 billion in halted grants constitutes a massive portion of the federal government’s overall operational budget. The total sum represents nearly 10% of all federal discretionary spending authorized by the government.

Representatives from the organizations behind the project emphasized that the scale and nature of these grant freezes significantly deviate from normal executive handovers. While new presidential administrations routinely review and adjust prior budgetary priorities, organizers noted that the current disruptions far exceed the typical recalibration seen during past administrative transitions.

Scott Delaney, co-founder of Grant Witness, emphasized the importance of cataloging these actions in an open forum, stating that gathering thousands of individual funding disruptions into a verified, publicly accessible system allows the true magnitude and reach of the administration’s actions to be fully understood.

Kelly Rader, the research director for the States United Democracy Center, highlighted the human toll and the localized burdens created by the funding halts, noting that the tracker illustrates the extraordinary breadth of the disruptions and shows how state governments are once again forced onto the front lines to shield their residents from the loss of federal aid.

The administration’s aggressive approach to grant funding has not gone unchallenged. A number of the funding reductions and freezes have been contested in the federal judicial system, where courts have already issued rulings against the administration in several funding dispute cases.

The tracking system relies on data extracted directly from USASpending.gov, which serves as the official open-data repository for federal government expenditures. The organizers stated that the Lost Funds database will be continuously updated in real time as the Trump administration executes new grant policies and as ongoing legal challenges make their way through the court system.

The States United Democracy Center, which co-created the tracker, describes itself as a nonpartisan organization committed to upholding the rule of law and ensuring free, fair, and secure elections. The center was co-founded by attorney Norm Eisen, who has engaged in high-profile legal challenges against the Trump administration—including litigation concerning the Kennedy Center—and subsequently departed the organization in 2024.

Grant Witness operates as a dedicated collective composed of scientists, legal professionals, and policy researchers who closely monitor and document shifts in federal grant funding under the Trump administration.

A formal request seeking comment regarding the analysis and its findings was directed to the White House.