RFK Jr. Slashes $122 Million in DHS Grants for LGBT Causes

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has taken decisive action to slash nearly $122 million in Department of Health and Human Services grants aimed at LGBT and diversity causes, a sweeping move critics say signals a dramatic shift in federal priorities.

The cuts affect 195 programs that the Trump administration deemed too focused on race and sexual orientation, according to the New York Post.

Kennedy began rolling back the grants in March, working closely with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to eliminate funding from diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

One of the largest grants eliminated was a $5.5 million award from the National Cancer Institute to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

The grant was earmarked for the Vanderbilt FIRST initiative, which sought to “recruit at least 18 tenure-track faculty from minoritized racial and ethnic groups.”

Drexel University was another high-profile casualty. The school was slated to receive more than $4.6 million from the National Cancer Institute for a program titled “Catalyzing Systemic Change at Drexel University to Support Diverse Faculty in Health Disparities Research.”

The funds were intended to mentor and support early-stage faculty working on health disparities, per the Daily Mail.

Kennedy also cut a $2.4 million grant to the University of Virginia from the National Institute of Mental Health for research on “Neurodevelopmental Biomarkers of Late Diagnosis in Female and Gender Diverse Autism.” The grant was part of a $12 million endowment UVA announced in 2022.

The National Institute on Aging removed a $1.1 million grant to the University of Michigan designed to “Improve Inclusivity of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Research for Asian Americans and Latinx through Nationally Representative Hybrid Sampling.”

“These programs were deemed inconsistent with the administration’s priorities,” a source familiar with the cuts told the Post. “The focus on sexual orientation and race was considered too woke, and the department is now streamlining funding to align with the current leadership’s goals.”

Kennedy, a longtime critic of HHS before taking the helm during Trump’s second term, has signaled that the department will no longer prioritize DEI programs.

He has also reshuffled key leadership, firing the director of the Centers for Disease Control and appointing Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill as acting CDC director. O’Neill is a known Kennedy loyalist with ties to the Peter Thiel Foundation and Thiel Fellowship for young entrepreneurs.

“This isn’t just about cutting grants,” one official said. “It’s about reshaping the department to reflect a new vision for health research in America.”

Grant recipients have remained largely silent in the wake of the cuts. The Post reached out to nearly a dozen institutions affected by Kennedy’s actions, but none responded for comment.

The elimination of $122 million in funding represents one of the most extensive rollbacks of diversity and LGBT-focused research in recent memory. It comes as the administration faces ongoing criticism for politicizing federal science and research priorities.

Kennedy’s aggressive restructuring of HHS grants and leadership signals a clear message: the era of federal funding tied to diversity, equity, and inclusion is over. “The department is moving in a direction that prioritizes merit-based research and de-emphasizes identity-focused initiatives,” the source added.

With the Trump administration doubling down on its agenda, the impact of these cuts will be felt across universities and research institutions nationwide.

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