The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to eliminate a key office within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that has been a central player in promoting gender ideology and abortion-related policies in the federal government. The Office of Population Affairs (OPA) is set to lose significant staffing, with around 30 employees receiving reduction-in-force (RIF) notices on October 10, sidelining most of the office’s staff. The cuts come at a time when the administration is warning that more reductions could follow if Democrats refuse to reopen the government.
OPA’s stated mission is to advance “reproductive health outcomes and adolescent health and wellbeing,” focusing on clinical services, innovative programs, and research. However, critics argue the agency has been used as a vehicle for pushing progressive policies, including supporting organizations that promote abortion and gender ideology. The cuts to OPA were part of a broader strategy laid out by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as part of the ongoing government shutdown fight, with the Trump administration targeting agencies whose programs were deemed inconsistent with its priorities.
One of OPA’s primary responsibilities is administering Title X, a federal program that provides grants for family planning and preventive health services. Despite Title X’s statutory prohibition on using funds for abortions, the Biden administration reversed a rule that prevented Title X projects from providing referrals for abortion services. Under this change, most projects are now required to offer such referrals if requested by clients, a move that aligns with the administration’s pro-abortion stance.
Planned Parenthood affiliates, the largest abortion provider in the U.S., have also benefited from Title X funding over the years. Moreover, regulations finalized in 2021 prohibited Title X projects from requiring parental consent for minors seeking services. While the rule was challenged in Texas and enforcement was suspended in the state, the policy shift has raised alarms among critics of the program.
Under the Biden administration, individuals affiliated with pro-abortion organizations were embedded in OPA, and the recent staff cuts have affected some of these employees. OPA has also been criticized for promoting "gender-affirming care" for minors, an issue that has sparked significant debate nationwide. The agency has funded organizations that distribute materials promoting gender ideology and, according to sources, even sexually explicit content. In response to mounting criticism, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice in July clarifying that OPA’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program could no longer use federal funds for materials promoting gender ideology or LGBTQIA+ topics.
While some employees remain to fulfill the office’s basic functions, the Trump administration has made it clear that it aims to reduce the office’s role, including a proposal to eliminate the program entirely in the 2026 budget. Rich Danker, assistant secretary for public affairs at HHS, criticized the Biden administration for what he called a “bloated bureaucracy,” citing a 38% increase in the HHS budget and a 17% rise in its workforce since Biden took office.
Republican Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois, who introduced an amendment to cut funding for OPA, lauded the administration’s actions. “The Office of Population Affairs has long used taxpayer dollars to advance the leftist agenda targeting children and the unborn,” Miller said. “I applaud the Trump Administration’s efforts to root out far-left programs in the federal government that undermine the very fabric of our country.”
The future of these layoffs is uncertain, however, as a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration’s plan to dismiss thousands of federal employees due to the ongoing shutdown. Danker confirmed that HHS is not currently moving forward with the planned reductions.
The timing of these cuts aligns with the government shutdown that began on October 1, following a failure to pass a bipartisan spending bill in the Senate. Democrats have tied their support for funding the government to $1.5 trillion in new spending for various left-leaning priorities, including abortion and gender policies. As the Trump administration moves forward with its agenda, the standoff over government funding continues to unfold, with significant implications for the future of OPA and similar programs.
