Disability Under Donald Trump’s Second Term — So Far

In the coming weeks, Donald Trump will address the nation with the first State of the Union speech of his second term. In the year since Trump regained the presidency, he has also benefitted from a Republican Congress and conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.

For the Disability community, it has been especially rocky as Trump’s hand-picked secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., set out on a crusade against autism, which has long claimed is caused by environmental factors, including vaccines, a claim widely debunked by decades of scientific research.

In the lead up to the SOTU, we reviewed Trump II to highlight the administration’s actions that have affected Disabled people.

January 2025

As the second Trump term began, the administration moved quickly to freeze regulatory activity and signal major policy shifts affecting Disability rights, immigration enforcement, foreign aid, and Indigenous justice. Federal officials began outlining stricter Medicaid eligibility rules, raising concerns for people with disabilities; on January 20, 578regulatory freeze pending review; on January 24, he ordered a near-total freeze on foreign aid, later issuing a limited humanitarian waiver through Secretary of State Marco Rubio; on Jan. 28, the administration revived aggressive enforcement of the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005 through a border security executive order, expanding DNA collection from detained immigrants and authorizing broader use of biometric technologies; by the end of the month, the Department of Justice had removed from its website a report detailing recommendations to address violence against Indigenous women.

February 2025

February saw an escalation in workforce purges, agency dismantling, and rollbacks across public health, Disability policy, veterans’ services, Indigenous health, and foreign aid.

The administration effectively dismantled USAID through a sequence of announcements and actions, including placing nearly all employees on administrative leave, eliminating more than 1,600 U.S.-based positions, and shutting down global health research programs; federal agencies removed scores of government webpages and datasets to comply with orders rolling back protections for transgender people; an Elon Musk–aligned DOGE staffer with a documented history of racist and pro-eugenics social media posts resigned after scrutiny, then was later reinstated; President Trump nominated David Keeling to lead OSHA, signaling a shift in workplace safety priorities

RFK Jr. officially took the reins at HHS; OSHA ordered the destruction and removal of workplace safety publications from both digital and physical circulation; the Indian Health Service announced layoffs that threatened healthcare delivery despite severe staffing shortages; the CDC began laying off more than a thousand probationary workers, disrupting public health training programs and disease surveillance; the Department of Veterans Affairs fired crisis hotline staff and other workers before later ordering remaining employees back to in-person work; the Social Security Administration terminated a retirement and Disability research program tied to DEI initiatives; sweeping firings across CDC, NIH, CMS, and FDA further weakened public health infrastructure; the administration threatened visa bans targeting transgender athletes; and the Demographic and Health Surveys program, a cornerstone of global public health data, was formally ended.

March 2025

In March, the administration expanded rollbacks affecting Disabled workers, public health systems, and recognition of women and minority service members. The U.S. Army initiated a broad digital purge removing content related to women and minority soldiers; Arlington National Cemetery unpublished website materials highlighting Black, Hispanic, and women veterans; President Trump signed Executive Order 14236 rescinding a Biden-era order that would have moved most Disabled workers earning sub-minimum wages toward minimum wage under federal contracts; HHS leadership under RFK Jr. moved to shut down the Administration for Community Living and began downsizing multiple health agencies, prompting concern from Disability advocates and public health officials.

April 2025

April brought a combination of policy changes and inflammatory public health rhetoric. Medicare telehealth services were scheduled to end beginning April 1, cutting off access for many Disabled and rural patients; later in the month, RFK Jr. publicly claimed autism was “worse than Covid,” drawing backlash from Disability advocates and public health experts.

May 2025

In May, the administration targeted economic assistance programs and accessibility in federal communications. President Trump’s FY 2026 budget proposal called for eliminating the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps low-income households cover utility costs; later in the month, the National Association of the Deaf filed suit against the White House over the removal of American Sign Language interpreters from press briefings.

June 2025

June saw regulatory action aimed squarely at Disabled workers. The Department of Labor released a proposed rule eliminating affirmative action requirements for Disabled employees under federal contracts by rescinding Section 503 benchmarks and data collection provisions.

July 2025

July featured major legislative and executive actions reshaping Medicaid, Disability labor protections, and mental health policy. Congress passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” cutting Medicaid spending, shifting costs to states, and mandating more frequent eligibility checks; the administration withdrew a proposed rule that would have phased out the sub-minimum wage waiver for Disabled workers under Section 14(c); President Trump signed an executive order tied to “Ending Crime & Disorder” that expanded involuntary treatment for people with serious mental illness as part of a homelessness strategy.

August 2025

In August, the administration announced plans to relocate unhoused people far from Washington, D.C., warning that those who refused services could face fines or jail time.

September 2025

September was marked by renewed public health controversy when the administration, including HHS leadership, warned pregnant women against using Tylenol, citing disputed claims linking it to autism.

October 2025

October unfolded amid widespread protests and a prolonged government shutdown with severe consequences for education, food assistance, and Disability services. The Department of Education laid off hundreds of employees, including large numbers from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; nationwide “No Kings” protests erupted, prompting President Trump to post an AI-generated video depicting himself attacking protesters; during the shutdown, the administration halted SNAP benefits affecting more than 40 million Americans before a federal judge ordered payments restored; additional layoffs gutted federal mental health and addiction treatment agencies, alarming advocates and local governments.

November 2025

In November, the administration continued reshaping social safety nets and federal programs. Advocacy groups sued over new limits on Public Service Loan Forgiveness; USDA announced SNAP benefits would be reduced to roughly 65% for the month; officials raised claims of widespread SNAP fraud and required all recipients to reapply; the Department of Government Efficiency was formally dissolved; President Trump announced he was terminating all executive orders signed by President Biden using an autopen.

December 2025

December closed the year with significant changes to health guidance and transportation enforcement. The CDC’s vaccine advisory panel rolled back a decades-old recommendation that newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth; the FDA announced a safety review of two RSV drugs for infants despite no prior safety concerns; the Department of Transportation removed nearly 10,000 commercial truck drivers from service for failing English-language proficiency requirements.