Accidental death data threatened by Trump CDC cuts
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
The CDC center that provides a window into how Americans are accidentally killed could see much of its work zeroed out under the Trump administration 2026 budget after it was hit hard by staff cuts this spring.
Why it matters: Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for Americans younger than 45, and the data the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control churns on fatal car accidents, drug overdose deaths, firearm injuries and even dog bites help inform public health strategies.
- The Trump budget targets the CDC with more than $3.5 billion in proposed cuts and lists the injury center under "duplicative, DEI or simply unnecessary programs" that can be conducted more effectively by states.
Where things stand: The center was hit by layoffs under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s reorganization of federal health agencies, losing about 200 staffers in April who primarily worked on violence prevention and unintentional injuries.
- That crippled key data repositories, such as a web-based injury statistics system called WISQAR and the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), with few data scientists and other technicians left to crunch the numbers, current employees and advocates say.
- "Those are existing in name only from here on, because the staff who have the expertise and the know-how and the access to the databases and all of that were RIF'd," Sharon Gilmartin, executive director of the Safe States Alliance, told Axios.
- Trump's 2026 budget request would eliminate funding for both data repositories and the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS).
Between the lines: Also potentially at risk is the CDC's federal surveillance report of drowning statistics, which found the number of drowning deaths among kids 4 and younger increased 28% during the pandemic, between 2019 and 2022.
- That information revealed COVID-era patterns, such as kids spending more time at home or distracted parents juggling remote work with child care, that may have increased their risk, Katie Adamson, vice president of health partnerships and policy for YMCA, told Axios.
- That kind of data, as well as $5 million in funding for drowning prevention programs such as swimming lessons, from groups like the YMCA, has been cut.
- "Why wouldn't the federal government have a role in [addressing] the leading cause of death in our babies?" Adamson said.
The cuts extend beyond the CDC to grantees around the country who use the data to implement prevention strategies, said one CDC official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
- Among the uses of funding specifically eliminated in the president's budget is money for a network of 11 Injury Control Research Centers at universities around the country that assist in researching the most efficient prevention programs based on the data collected by the CDC.
- The work includes a University of Michigan study of the effectiveness of anonymous tip lines at schools. Over four years, it identified more than 1,000 opportunities for mental health intervention, with dozens of weapons recovered from schools and several students with school shooting plans.
- "The return on investment for preventing these kinds of injuries and deaths is enormous," the official said. "If you care about saving dollars, you should be investing in the kind of work that the CDC injury center has historically done. It's not duplicative, it's unique."
The other side: HHS has indicated plans for some of the work would be transferred within the planned Administration for a Healthy America.
- "HHS and CDC remain firmly committed to maintaining the availability of high-quality public health data essential to injury prevention and response nationwide," an HHS spokesman said.
- "As part of Secretary Kennedy's broader vision to streamline HHS operations and improve government efficiency, the CDC's critical work will continue to inform data-driven strategies that protect the health and safety of the American people."
Yes, but: It's not that easy to just shift the work of the injury center and its complex data infrastructure, including laboratory work and response work, to another agency, the CDC official said.
- "Everybody's really worried around here. We've already lost the world's experts in a lot of these topics and a lot of incredible work in every one of these areas. It's not easy to just turn that back on or rebuild," the CDC official said.
What we're watching: If Congress gridlocks on funding the government, it could keep the center's work funded through a stopgap spending plan.
