The Government Accountability Office has ruled that the Trump administration violated the Impoundment Control Act by illegally withholding over $78 million in fiscal 2025 research funds from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The watchdog found that mass layoffs in July 2025 dismantled the agency's grantmaking capabilities, leading to a halt in funding. Democratic lawmakers, who initiated the probe, have condemned the administration's actions, which also face an ongoing federal lawsuit from medical groups.
GAO findings on AHRQ funding
- ▪The Government Accountability Office stated that the reduction in force separating key grant personnel, the cancellation of grant peer review sessions, and management admissions of funding uncertainty suggested a lack of intent to prudently obligate funds.
- ▪A Government Accountability Office examination of budget documents showed that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality did not increase funding elsewhere to compensate for the declining rate of grant obligations in fiscal 2025.
- ▪On October 7, 2026, the Government Accountability Office found the Department of Health and Human Services violated the Impoundment Control Act by withholding more than $78 million in fiscal 2025 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality funds without notifying Congress.
Congressional response to AHRQ cuts
- ▪Senator Patty Murray and Representatives Diana DeGette, Doris Matsui, and Don Beyer applauded the Government Accountability Office's findings and accused the Trump administration of illegally dismantling the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's grantmaking operations.
- ▪Democratic lawmakers officially requested the Government Accountability Office investigation in 2025 following the mass firings of grant-processing employees at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Lawsuit over AHRQ funding and staffing cuts
- ▪The Society of General Internal Medicine and the North American Primary Care Research Group filed a lawsuit alleging that staffing cuts led to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality failing to review and issue grants for fiscal year 2025.
- ▪The Society of General Internal Medicine and the North American Primary Care Research Group sought to extend the deadline to obligate funds for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
- ▪The plaintiffs in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality lawsuit amended their complaint on September 3, 2026, to incorporate a July 26 denial of continued funding to approximately 150 grantees as evidence of illegal impoundment.
White House proposals to claw back funding
- ▪In September 2026, the White House notified Congress of its intent to claw back $28 million of the $345 million appropriated for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for fiscal year 2026.
- ▪In September 2026, the White House proposed to cancel nearly $1 billion in federal funding across various agencies, including the clawback of Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality funds.
Debatable claims
- ▪The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's research is wasteful and duplicative
- ▪The Trump administration's withholding of AHRQ funds was justified
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